A Special Thank You to Equine & Pet Rescues

Animal Lovers Who Go Above & Beyond

I have always been envious of those special people who have the most open hearts and can give until it hurts. Everyone (well, almost everyone) gives back in one form or another occasionally but it is those special people who give of themselves tirelessly, day after day, and all just to help another who is in need. Those are the people who I truly admire and am so glad that they exist.

Owners and operators of animal rescues, and the volunteers that help them, are part of that special group of commendable people. In particular, those that help horses and household pets. As a horse & pet owner and lover, I see these types of people locally and through social media and am amazed by their dedication to help four-legged (generally) creatures just to survive.

“If I had the money, I would rescue every horse or pet that I could!” I’ve heard those words uttered many times in the equine community but that is just the point… these animal rescues don’t have a lot of money. They have loads and loads of heart and so much love to share but the money they have (or don’t) is not the reason they do what they do. They rescue animals simply because they want to help and have an overwhelming desire to ensure that the animals have a happy and healthy life.

As horse and/or animal lovers, we know that it costs a lot of money to own and care for them. Many people think that horse owners are rich but, in truth, most of our money goes to our animals. We work hard and the rewards are wonderful when you have animals who love everything you do for them. They may not know the financial commitments that we make but they do know that they are happy in their comfy stalls; when their head is buried in a round bale; and when mom comes in with a handful of carrots or treats and gives them a quick hug and kiss.

Rescued animals are no different. Their history may not be very pleasant and they may have had to deal with some unfavourable conditions but once they are in the loving hands of a rescue worker, you can see the twinkle come back into their eyes. They no longer cower in the corner or lash out when a human approaches. As they learn that not every person will treat them badly, their confidence increases and they begin to look forward to the lady with the baseball cap coming in to their stall. She probably has some treats and most definitely has a hug.

Not to mention the look on the faces of those rescue workers as they get a nuzzle from a formerly abused or neglected animal who is now trusting them is priceless. Smiles and happy tears are a familiar site at rescues as the bonds build and the love is shared between humans and their animals.

With all that is needed to care for neglected animals, we know that rescues need donations. Everything from discounted vet services to feed to volunteers to monetary contributions… they need the generous donations from other animal lovers and even corporations to truly provide the care that the animals need.

A website is a wonderful way for an animal rescue to showcase the good work that they do and also a way to show how they need help. Many rescues will attempt to design their own websites but just having a website live on the Internet does not necessarily mean it will do well in the search engines and get thus get noticed by potential donators. However, many just can’t afford to get a website designed and host it. When money is needed to buy hay and feed, one of the last things they want to spend it on is a website even though that is one of the best ways to bring in new support. It’s a catch 22 situation for many.

Thus the reason for this article. Aside from my admiration for rescue facilities and those who give of themselves to run them, I also wanted to give to them a donation. I wish I could do it for every rescue out there but then I wouldn’t have any time for the rest of my clients nor an income which I need to help care for our animals. However, I do want to help as much as I can so I do provide a discount on web design & hosting for non-profit rescue facilities.

Even better than that (at least we think so), we want to help at least one rescue get the website they need without having to pay us for the design. In other words, free 🙂

We are having a contest which is open to equine and pet rescues in North America. You simply tell us about your facility and we will choose one facility to either get a brand new website or the equivalent in maintenance hours on their existing website.
CONTEST CLOSES AUGUST 31, 2014

We also want to help spread the word. So, every rescue that enters our contest will become a part of a campaign where we will showcase and share information through our social media avenues. We will also do a follow up article to this one featuring the winning rescue and include information about all of the entrants.

We realize that there are horse & pet rescues outside of North America and other animal rescues and we wish we could offer this contest to all of them but for right now we will only take entries from Canadian and US based horse or pet rescues. Down the road we hope to do this with other rescues around the world.

Kudos to all horse & pet rescue owners, operators and volunteers! Thank you for what you do and for making the world a better place one paw or hoof at a time!

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.