Princess
Dot
10/17/03
- It was late in the afternoon and that Gail person had come
in the house to rinse off some of that dirt and maybe eat a
sandwich. From outside came the sound of a truck pulling up.
When she walked outside, there was a gentleman at her gate and
parked behind him was a truck with a large stock trailer. As
she walked toward the gate her eyes immediately went to the
trailer to see if there were horses visible. None were seen
and Gail assumed the gentleman was a) Inquiring about the horses
in the pasture (Jake, Rio, Shilo & Slim) or b) asking directions
to somewhere.
The
gentleman informed Gail that someone had directed him to TIER
because he had a pony he wanted to dispose of. He said that
he had picked up the pony from a place where she hadn't been
getting fed properly. Gail listened to the story and was about
to tell him that due to funds being very tight and space she
could not take in any horses at this time when he opened the
trailer door. And there she was..........wide eyed, shaking,
coat dirty and very smelly, feet in need of work, upper and
lower teeth protruding slightly from her mouth and quite skinny.
Gail took a big step up into the trailer and went to her. Poor
little girl was shaking so badly that Gail was sure she was
foundered and having a hard time standing. After trying to calm
the wee girl as she tried to keep an eye on both Gail and the
gentleman by nervously stepping to and fro, Gail locked on to
her blue eye that was widened in fear. She talked to the little
one, felt for heat in her feet (and found none), ran her hands
over her protruding backbone/hips/shoulders, noticed her dental
problem and once again met that fearful stare from the little
paint's blue eye. Gail turned to the gentleman and said "What
do you want for her?"
The
gentleman replied he didn't want anything for her and that he
could not keep her. Gail sighed, looked at the little girl standing
there shaking and said "Well, let's get her out of here
then." As the trailer was a step up and parked where the
step down would require the little pony to jump down onto asphalt,
Gail started to tell the gentleman where he could move the trailer
to make it easier for this spotted lady to disembark when the
man took the lead rope and led her to the back. She jumped out
of the trailer in a flash, didn't slide on the asphalt (thank
goodness), looked toward the TIER horses and loudly whinnied.
Of course, there was a chorus of welcoming whinnies in return
with Jake, Rio & Shilo hanging their heads over the pasture
fence making goo-goo eyes and Slim heading toward the gate to
get a better view of this potentially foxy lady.
Later
that day during the regular visit from the children in our Youth
Program, one of the girls picked several names for our new friend.
The name that was chosen for this lovely mare is Princess Dot.
She is now residing next to Pearl who does not seem to be upset
by a new neighbor, even if she does smell bad, is skinny, her
mane is a tangled mess, she has thrush, in need of farrier and
dental work and is somewhat concerned by humans coming toward
her. Dottie (short for Princess Dot) will get a thorough grooming
once she has settled in. It was noted that she has saddle marks
on the one spot on her back which is just behind her withers.
The farrier has been called and will be out to give her a manicure
the beginning of next week. The equine dentist that resides
close by will come out to see what he can do to help those teeth.
We will have to put off immediate dental work as we do not have
the funds right now. She is eating wetted down pellets and orchard/alfalfa
hay. Once she has the food in her mouth, she doesn?t seem to
have a problem chewing, but watching her use those long front
teeth to try to grab food is heartbreaking........she manages
fairly well. And.....she IS hungry! She is receiving Evergreen
Insure Vitamins, ABC Plus, fresh water, pellets and orchard/alfalfa
hay. Calls have been made to approved Foster Care folks and
once she has received farrier, dental and vet care she will
go to foster care until we can horse fence the recently acquired
property leased to us by the Jurupa Community Services District.
That will take some time as the current fencing is barbed wire
and we hope to put up fencing/cross fencing within a few months.
Fund raisers for this project are in the making!!
At
any rate, please join us in welcoming Princess Dot.
Dot's
dental work will cost $150. Her farrier visit will cost $20.
Donations
are also needed for the Hay Fund, general feed and maintenance,
and regular farrier and vet expenses.
Dottie
also needs sponsorship until she can be placed in a foster home.
Sponsorship
is $150/month which covers food, supplements, worming and farrier
care for one month.
10-30-03
UPDOT: Oops! That should be "Princess Dot Update"!!!
True Innocents Equine Rescue - TIER wishes to express our heartfelt
thanks to you wonderful people for coming to Princess Dot's
aid. An announcement was made regarding the story of Princess
Dot's arrival at TIER and her immediate need for extensive dental
care, farrier care and plain old good food. Because of you,
Princess Dot (aka: Dottie) received a manicure by our farrier
who indicated that Dottie was not foundered, nor were there
indications that she had foundered in the past. It was the farrier's
opinion that although Dottie's front legs are rather straight,
her main issues are some arthritis, lack of nutrition and, most
probably, having been used or worked alot. With rest, a visit
from the dentist, proper feed and supplements, he felt she would
become comfortable and happy. He was right!!!
Our dentist was saddened to see the condition of Dottie's teeth.
It appeared that at some time she had had some dental care,
but that time was long, long ago. Dottie's teeth in the left
rear portion of her mouth were only broken and missing teeth.
The inside of her cheek was filled with scar tissue and wads
of feed were found in the spaces where teeth once were. The
right rear section of Dottie's mouth does have upper and lower
teeth, but they were in terrible shape (compensating for the
lack of good teeth on her left side) and the hooks on those
teeth were shredding the inside of her jaw on that side. There
was massive scar tissue and ulcers on this portion of Dottie's
mouth. Her front teeth protruded beyond her lips. Due to the
fact that the gum line grew forward as her teeth were pushed
to the front, the dentist could not remove alot of this growth
without causing Dottie more problems. He did use a drummel to
cut these teeth down some, but they will still protrude a bit.
After
approximately 2 hours of dental work, Dottie wanted to chow
down on the softened pellets we provided. Because of the extensive
work done on her mouth, we withheld food until she had come
out of the anesthesia a little more. Bute and antibiotics were
mixed with her feed and she was happy to gobble up the pellets
and the medicine without too much trouble! It took awhile for
her to adjust to her 'new mouth', but we are pleased to tell
you that she has the hang of it now and is eating quite well!
She was on antibiotics for 5 days due to the ulcerations in
her mouth. We gave her Bute for 2 days to help ease the soreness
and inflammation from the extensive dental procedure.
Prior
to her visit with the dentist, The Barngoddess and her son Johnnie,
came out and gave our little girl a beauty treatment. The poor
girl had an awful stench which we have smelled before on horses
that have almost given up. It is difficult to describe this
odor other than it is a sickly, almost hopeless smell. She was
washed and brushed thoroughly. Although Dottie seemed to be
a bit concerned about this event at first, she really seemed
to enjoy the attention Johnnie was lavishing on her. Her little
ears were perked up and her eyes bright as she listened to Johnnie
and The Barngoddess steadily talking while they scrubbed, rubbed,
rinsed, combed, brushed & pampered her. She appeared to
be very pleased to be treated as the Princess she is!!!
Dottie's
Foster mom came out and clipped the Princess a bit. Basically,
her underbelly, neck and part of her legs were clipped so that
Dottie would be better able to regulate her temperature during
the hot days and cooler nights. Once her system is better balanced
and she begins to shed some of the unhealthy thick coat, this
may no longer be necessary. Dottie was a bit frightened when
the clippers were turned on, but once you gave her time to see
them, smell them and understand she would not be harmed, she
was a very good girl. Dottie is apprehensive when she is approached
quickly. By taking the time to talk to her, letting her see
that you mean no harm, she is quite willing to accept whatever
you are doing. At first, putting a fly mask or halter on was
scary for her. But now, she seems to have settled in quite well.
Time and patience.........
We
also have been giving the Princess ABC Plus to help her put
on weight and help her tummy digest her food/supplements. She
is receiving MSM to help with those tired joints and, of course,
the Evergreen Insure Vitamins. We are very happy to tell you
that she is putting on weight and seems to think her new look
should be appreciated by her neighbor Pepper. Pepper likes Dottie
alot....... especially when she moves her bowl of pellets close
enough for him to go down on his knees, stretch his neck into
her pen and grab the bowl to move it into his pen!! HAAA! We
have remedied that situation by moving her feeding spot to the
other side of the pen next to her other neighbor Pearl. Dottie
is a quick learner and we have found that she can snatch Pearl's
bowl of pellets and drag it into her pen for a little added
dinner! Pearl doesn't seem to mind......too much.
We
are so grateful to you for helping us to help Dottie. Times
are difficult for everyone right now and we deeply appreciate
your support and caring. For what you do, have done and continue
to do to help TIER and the horses in its care....... THANK YOU!
When
the heart speaks........the heart listens!
Here's
what the dentist removed from Princess Dot's Teeth!
Update
4/18/04 - Dottie is sporting a new and improved haircut.
(Improved because I have gotten a very little bit better at
using the clippers. It's not show quality, but it is much better
than last time!!!) She is also doing wonderfully well on her
feet after having had two trims performed by Mike LaGrone from
Oklahoma. She's dancing out in the arena area and moving so
much better! Although she came in very underweight, she managed
to put on the pounds in a relatively short time. She is now
a bit disgruntled with us as we have cut back on her feed. Pudgy
is not pretty on a Princess Dot with owie feet! HA!
Update
4/11/05 - The fur was flyin and Princess Dot was not
pleased. DeBarnGoddess spent most of the afternoon trying to
find a pony under all that hair. What a difference!! She looks
like a different pony and there was enough hair to almost make
a whole new pony!!
Slim
will be the next victim of the Clipper Queen!
Update
11/22/05 - It is with great sadness that I bring news
that Dottie has crossed the Rainbow Bridge. I am still in shock
at the suddenness of her passing.
On
October 28th I walked out to do the morning feed. SueAnn &
Dottie were there to greet me as usual as they had the run of
the front of property the evening before. I mixed up Dottie’s
pellets, vitamins, MSM, etc., placed it in her pen and she began
eating. Shortly after I noticed she was down. I checked her
feet for heat (possible founder) and there was none. She had
pooped shortly before she was served breakfast so I didn’t
think she was experiencing colic. I checked her gums and the
color/response to pressure was good. I asked her to get up and
she was unsteady on her feet and her breathing was labored.
I administered Banamine in case it was colic. She seemed to
be okay, began eating and I finished feeding the others.
When
I was done feeding, I came back to Dot and she went down again.
I got her up, walked out to the grassy area. She was very unsteady
on her feet and went down again. I ran in to call the vet and
as I was speaking to the vet, Dot’s legs began kicking
as she was lying there. Then she stopped moving. I told the
vet to hang on and ran out to her. She was gone. I stood there
in shock. When I got back on the phone with the vet and explained
what had just happened, it was his thought that she might have
experienced and aneurysm. I still can’t believe that our
precious little girl is gone. I am thankful that when it was
her time to go that she went quickly and that I was here.
Princess
Dot is now running the pastures, hills and streams on the other
side of the Rainbow Bridge. I am sure Pearl & Slim were
there to meet her and that she is whole, pain free and her voice
which sounded like a billy goat is ringing through the land!
We miss you Dot! We miss you so very much! Thank you for the
gift of your presence.