and it led to me becoming the Heart of Phoenix volunteer some of you all know today.
On October 13, 2012 I received a phone call. It went a little something like this…”This is Tinia Creamer from Heart of Phoenix Equine Rescue. You have our horse, and she is supposed to be with her original adopter. I need you to go out and take pictures of her right now so we know she is safe right away.” I believed she was serious and she had the pictures in 20 minutes.
Now, let me preface this with saying that I had no idea I had a horse that wasn’t allowed to be rehomed. My daughter had fallen in love with her and the adopter gave her to us, not realizing that she wasn’t allowed to do so. Back then HOP was a very small organization, and this mare’s adopter had not fully read the adoption terms, which required the mare to return to the rescue or be placed with a new home through their screening process.
They got the pictures, the whole thing was explained to me and I filled out the adoption contract on the mare at my farm where she lived several more years, going almost completely blind and then developing cancer and we made the decision not to let her go through another winter.
Shortly after I “officially” adopted Teza, I was asked to become a volunteer for HOP in the capacity of editor (at first but then they suck you in forever -LOL), and for quite a while I helped work on posts behind the scenes. I cannot remember which came next, but I ran all the applications for several years until the job got too big for one person to even be able to think about handling. Somewhere along in there came what is my favorite role, which is to write educational articles about the hundreds of topics that you can be educated on regarding horse husbandry, horse ownership, and horse health.
That role is really where I shine as I have an eternal thirst for learning and a passion for education.
My point is really this after all of the above-you can volunteer for us in just about any capacity you think you can contribute some thing, whether it be big or small. Heart of Phoenix is so multi-faceted that there are a myriad amount of ways that a person can contribute to its well being. It may be a one time thing you do, a bi annual happening, a daily contribution; something you do from Zimbabwe online or in person at our main facility. Pretty much we can plug you in somehow if you have a heart for rescue. So please, if you believe in our mission to save horses from a life of misery, pain and starvation, empower and educate equine owners and adopts to take the best care of their horses possible, and effect real world change in animal welfare laws and the enforcement of those laws, send us a message and jump on board the crazy train! We are actually a very eclectic and fun loving group of zany volunteers and a heck of a lot of fun to hang out with!
WHAT #RIGHTHORSE MEANS TO ME
(that gal who called me so sternly on the phone demanding pictures is one of my really good friends now and we do crazy stuff together during HOP events)
