Dory’s story is so touching, it drives us to fight harder for change and compassion in animal welfare.
We know some of her background story, or at least what we were told. 5 years ago she was kicked in the face by another horse, breaking her jaw and damaging her eye. She was left to fend for herself without treatment. Something happened in the last months which made the situation worse, making it almost impossible for Dory to eat.
We rescued her, expecting to do an instant euthanasia to end her suffering. After meeting her and seeing her strong will to live and fight we decided to give her a chance. We vowed as long as she was full of spirit and fighting and in the right direction we would try for her. But as soon as she showed any signs of suffering and defeat we would end her suffering.
Poor Dory had everything wrong, a broken jaw which was her biggest problem. It cost her more energy to eat, than she would get from the food. She had a blind infected eye, a heart murmur and she was skin and bones. The only thing holding her together was her strong mind and amazing personality. Once again, the people who did this are free and our amazing volunteers and kind supporters are left to pick up the pieces and pay the vet bills.
We had to look at around 1000 euros for everything needed for end of life care and removal of her body. Someone said to us: ‘If we rescue this mare all of the others will seem irrelevant in comparison.’ This is without a doubt the worst condition we have ever seen a horse in. Us, the vets and other experts are all in agreement.
Sitting and watching her take her last breath with 15 people around her breaks your heart. Not just for her, but for every other animal that suffers in this way. We can and will continue to rescue horses and change their lives. But we need to do more, we need to fight for what is right. We need to get a bigger platform so people will listen, together we are stronger.
Dory may not have won the battle, however she did something amazing, she created a huge community. People that want to fight for change and knowledge to be shared. She was not alone for a second over her last week, volunteers moved in to the stable and kept her fed, clean and comfortable. She at the very least felt love and comfort in her final hours.
If you would like to donate towards her end of life bill we would be grateful. Her, us and the next horse than will need to be rescued.
We can imagine you might want to know more about our point of view on animal euthanasia. You can find more information about it here.
