dakoda

We adopted this lovely, young mare from Arapahoe Creek, Wyoming upon request from the BLM. In the spirit of cooperation, we are quick to accept whenever they ask us take a horse. Her previous adopter, who did a beautiful job gentling her, reluctantly returned Dakoda to Cañon City after she was developed Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis (EPM). He was so shaken about having to leave her that Vicky promised him she would arrange a soft landing and called me.

We understand that the expense of equine medical care can be astronomical, especially when diagnosis and treatment is elusive. A constant trickle of urine was causing painful scalding on Dakoda’s legs. We treated the symptoms to bring her relief with rinses every other day and salves while we searched for the cause. From the beginning, our fantastic veterinarians at Bend Equine suspected that surgery could help her, but it took months of diagnostics, observation, and listening to Dakoda to figure out what was going on.

She arrived at Skydog at the same time as Hera and Strongheart - the former, proud and defiant, the latter shattered and sinking. Dakoda immediately demonstrated her gift for easing the stress of others. For those wildest of mares, her comfort level with us set an example of associating positive things with humans.

When the little filly Lily came to Skydog, she struggled with her own set of serious health issues. Like Dakoda, she was unlikely to survive without our help. Broken, depressed, and lethargic, she had an autoimmune disease, Pemphigus Foliation. Painful, puss-filled blisters burst and scabbed all over her itchy body, her hair fell out in clumps, there was swelling in her abdomen and legs. If that wasn’t enough, she was bowlegged, which would require surgery, when - and if - we could get her that far. No doubt sensing how starved this filly was for family, love, and security, Dakoda went right to work. A grooming companion, a playmate, a soothing nicker in the dark, a maternal spirit, she was key in helping Lily spring back to life.

Lily is a ray of sunshine in the special needs pen, but it is Dakoda’s warmth around which all the horses gravitate. She’s what everybody needs her to be: guiding calm for blind seniors and playful vivacity for little Lily. When restrictions were placed on Lily’s movement after successful surgery on her front legs, Dakoda came to the barn to cheer her up.

Dakoda’s treatment for EPM put her in remission, but her urinary problems continued. It was a long road to the right diagnosis, but earlier this month, the mystery was solved. Janelle drove her to UC Davis for a complicated surgery. Rarely performed, it could not have gone better. The surgeon removed a kidney, from which a tube was misdirecting urine, so it pooled in the wrong place, causing internal and external scalding. The procedure was a complete success and Dakoda is peeing normally and comfortably.

Icing on this cake, after reading about Dakoda’s issues, a very special patron on Patreon volunteered to pay the whole of her veterinary bills and transportation costs. It is more than a poignant coincidence that this lovely donor is also named Lily.

I think this special-needs family is so dear to us all because they came so close to never knowing the beautiful lives they now lead. It requires a lot of work, money, love and commitment that comes not just from our staff, but donors, sponsors, and followers to who have made a world of difference.

#skydogdakoda

Mustangs and Burros Need Your Help

In addition to supporting our work by donating, becoming a patron on Patreon, or sponsoring a Skydog, there are several important pieces of legislation to protect American equines currently moving through Congress. It only takes a few minutes to contact your Rep and Senators and urge them to support these bills:

Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act of 2023 (H.R. 3475 in the House / S.2307 in the Senate). This bill will shut down the slaughter pipeline that sends some 20,000 American horses and donkeys to savagely monstrous deaths in foreign slaughterhouses every year.

The Wild Horse & Burro Protection Act of 2023 (H. R. 3656) This bill will prohibit the use of helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft in the management of wild mustangs and burros on public lands, and require a report on humane alternatives to current management practices.

Ejiao Act of 2023 (H.R. 6021). To ​​ban the sale or transportation of ejiao, a gelatin made from boiling donkey skins, or products containing ejiao in interstate or foreign commerce, which brutally kills millions of donkeys primarily for beauty products and Chinese medicine.

You can Contact Members of Congress by calling the Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-3121‬, submitting contact forms on their individual websites, or sending one email to all three simultaneously at www.democracy.io

See our How to Help menu for other actions to ban zebra hunting at US canned hunt ranches, stop production of Premarin & other PMU drugs, and defund the Adoption Incentive Program.