dorothy
Dorothy is our first save from the Pine Nut herd in Nevada. In 2019, we found her in a Kansas killpen waiting to ship to slaughter. Her brand says she was 27 years old, but our vet believed she was over 30. Whatever her age, she was elderly, tiny, skinny, sick, sweet, and fragile. This poor old girl was one of a number of horses from a starvation case, who had already shipped, and she was out of time.
Her rescue had to be handled very carefully. Once we knew she had crossed into Colorado on her freedom ride, the phrase “we’re not in Kansas any more” never sounded sweeter. Our wonderful hauler, Carla, collected and drove her 400 miles to her place in Colorado. Dorothy rested there and her re-feeding began until she was strong enough to make the rest of her journey to Oregon.
When Dorothy arrived, she seemed lost and and daunted, but grumpy old Sarge befriended her and helped her settle in. With issues in her back and hind leg, we kept her close to the barn for the extra care and attention she needed. She soaked up all the pampering that Sarge shunned like blankets in the cold and body massages.
Sarge eventually pastured up with another grumpy old man, Monte Cristo and those two are deeply bonded. Dorothy chose Lightening and Mary, with whom she has thrived and blossomed. There’s no place like home, but for this Dorothy, it is Skydog, not Kansas, where she has everything her heart desires.
American 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 2025 (H.R.1661 in the House and S.775 in the Senate). This bill would amend the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018. Commonly known as the “Farm Bill”, this omnibus federal law includes several important provisions for animals. Among them, the Cat and Dog Meat Trade Prohibition Act, which makes it illegal to slaughter, transport, possess, purchase, sell, or donate dogs and cats, or their parts, for human consumption. This SAFE Act would extend the prohibition to equines. Specifically, prohibiting a person from knowingly slaughtering an American equine for human consumption; or shipping, transporting, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donating an American equine to be slaughtered for human consumption. 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.
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.
You can also tell your Rep and Senators that you want these bills from the previous Congress introduced again this session:
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.