Name: Ernest

    Type: Mammoth Donkey

    Color: Grey

      Markings: None

    Sex: Gelding

    Birthday: 1/1/2009

Ernest was saved because a group of rescues worked together to save him – and 43 others. Here is their story:

Celine Myers of the Ark Watch Foundation heard about a group of 44 donkeys in danger of going to slaughter in Beebe, AK. She reached out to Tia Bonkowski of Turning Pointe Donkey Rescue to see if she would be willing to help. Tia knew of the kill buyer and was willing to act as liaison with him on Ark Watch’s behalf. Celine also asked Tia to reach out to the Humane Society of North Texas and see if HSNT would be willing to take the donkeys in, care for them and adopt them out, if a grant could be secured to help cover the costs. Fortunately, HSNT agreed to take the group of 44 donkeys.

Ark Watch Foundation covered the funds needed to purchase the donkeys and pay for their transport to HSNT. Red Bell Run contributed to the grant sent to HSNT to be used towards vetting and caring for the donkeys until they could be adopted out. We knew the donkeys would arrive thin and ill with respiratory issues. When the haulers arrived to pick up the first group of donkeys, they reported back that all 44 of the donkeys were in very poor condition. The hauler called to say that there were several donkeys in the group that needed immediate medical attention. One of these was a large Mammoth jack who was terribly emaciated and covered in bite marks from fighting. That Mammoth donkey would be named “Ernest”. All of the donkeys had pneumonia, and the vets started them on medications to resolve it. They were put on a refeeding program to safely reintroduce hay and feed and avoid the possibility of developing Refeeding Syndrome which often kills emaciated animals once they begin eating again if food is not reintroduced properly.

Ernest turned out to be quite the character. Quite handleable, he was very curious about all that was going on at the clinic. He’d pop his big head over the stall dividers and the staff said Ernest really enjoyed watching his neighbors receive their medical treatments. Although Ernest was an intact jack, he did not exhibit any “studdy” behavior. This was quite surprising since the 10 yr. old Ernest had obviously been used for breeding. When Ernest had gained enough weight that it was safe to anesthetize him, he was castrated. The vet reported that Ernest had the largest “family jewels” she had ever seen! Despite this, the surgery went well and Ernest recovered quickly without incident. Thirty days post-surgery, Ernest boarded the Equine Express trailer and headed off to the Red Bell Run Sanctuary in NC. Once at Red Bell Run Ernest quickly settled into his new home. Charlotte, a young molly mule who, sadly, had been orphaned, traveled with Ernest to North Carolina and the two became fast friends on the trip and remain so today. We discovered that Ernest has a decided dislike for dogs (Mr. Waylon, the Red Bell Run Coonhound found that out when he decided to enter Ernest’s pen uninvited and barely escaped)! Other than that, Ernest is a lover, not a fighter, is very well-behaved and spends his days happily grazing with Charlotte who will occasionally convince him to trot a short distance. Ernest’s feet were long-neglected in his previous life, so he requires specialty farrier care, but has become quite the gentleman about it, and is a favorite here at the Sanctuary with his ultra-long ears! 

    Name: Charlotte

    Type: Mule

    Color: Bay

      Markings: Dorsal Stripe

    Sex: Mare

    Birthday: 1/1/2017

Charlotte is one of our younger residents here at Red Bell Run. Her circumstances and the way she came to the Sanctuary is truly a sad story. While she wasn’t technically “abused” she certainly suffered from an uncaring and irresponsible owner who gave her poor mother no training or care. That led to Charlotte and her mother Grace being dumped at an auction and nearly purchased by one of the most notorious kill buyers in the United States.

We were contacted by members of another rescue who were attending the auction and had managed to win the bid for the pair, a stunning grey Quarter Horse mare and a little molly mule who was about four months old, but they didn’t have the facilities to accommodate them since they were unhandleable. The previous owner had let a jack donkey breed the beautiful mare, and while he fed her, never handled the mare or her foal. This meant they received no farrier or vet care and were unvaccinated (so important for foals) and riddled with parasites. The rescue asked that Red Bell Run take them. Because both were unhandled, we sent them to a trainer who specialized in handling wild horses, so they could be halter broke and start receiving the care they needed. 

While Charlotte was able to be handled fairly soon, Grace proved more difficult. They were able to be dewormed (their parasite counts were over 8,000), but to do any other veterinary or farrier care required that Grace be trapped behind a panel and heavily sedated first. The pair were strongly bonded and while Charlotte became accustomed to people, poor Grace never did. Unfortunately, Grace damaged her hoof and before long the infection set up in her coffin bone. Once the trainer realized there was an issue and notified us, Red Bell Run arranged for a vet who was willing to try to go to her to help. Sadly, it was too late and poor Grace had to be humanely euthanized. At this point we arranged for Charlotte to be brought to Red Bell Run. She has settled in and is best friends with Ernest, a huge mammoth donkey who adores her, in our Sunset Ridge barn. Charlotte is turning a beautiful grey like her mother and is quite a character. She loves playing with the water hose and is definitely a mule with all of the quirks of their kind. We love her sassy attitude!  

    Name: Isaac

    Type: Hinny

    Color: Dark Bay

    Markings: 4 white socks 

    Sex: Gelding

    Birthday: 1/1/2016

Our little hinny Isaac has quite a tale to tell. Abandoned at a Pennsylvania auction at three weeks old, mom nowhere to be found, he was sick and on his way to an early death. A rescue friend sent me the video – he was pitiful. Could she pick him up, we asked? Yes, she would – even though it was late in the day on the 3rd of July. She loaded little Isaac and called. 

She was sure he was sick. Yes, we could tell from the flopping ears and sad demeanor. Was there a vet on the way home that would take him? No – no one was open. Everyone was closed in anticipation of the Fourth of July holiday. We called our vet in Texas, sent her the video. Do you have any Doxycycline she asked? Normally, she wouldn’t prescribe anything without seeing the patient, but we were up against a wall. Fortunately, our friend had been treating a dog with Doxycycline and had some at home. Our Texas vet gave us the amount and Isaac got a dose. It probably saved his life. Fortunately, our friend had worked at a vet’s office years ago. She and the vet were still in touch. She called. Dr. Brian Burks would take him if he could come in the next morning. Get him there, we said. Our sweet friend loaded Isaac back up and drove two hours on the Fourth of July to the vet clinic. Dr. Burks who would become Isaac’s hero was waiting. 

That began the journey now know as “Saving Little Isaac”

Isaac was very sick. You name it, the poor little guy had it: pneumonia in both lungs, anemia, and the worst case of ulcers the vet had seen in 30 years of practice. There were antibiotics, sleepless nights, waiting for the phone to ring with bad news, and more antibiotics when the first ones didn’t clear up the abscesses in Isaac’s lungs. Finally, after two months of intensive care – improvement! We were so happy! Then – more ulcers (he needed a friend but was too sick to have one, so we got him a teddy bear), more treatments for his lungs, Gastroguard every day, and more antibiotics. At last – Isaac was better; the ulcers were improving and he was now a year old. We had another issue. Isaac needed to be gelded – and he needed a real friend. Step one: gelding. He was a cryptorchid. That meant surgery, so we held our breath and prayed his lungs would hold up to the anesthesia. Dr. Burks called. Success! Isaac was a gelding. A month later we saved Ellie, another hinny, and Isaac had a friend. After 14 months, it was time for Isaac and Ellie to come home. He will always need to be watched since his lungs are scarred, but his ulcers were gone and he had a friend too. It was a long journey – but worth every penny and sleepless night. Isaac’s friend Ellie has now sadly crossed the Rainbow Bridge, but Isaac has a new buddy in our Frodo and they live happily together at Critters Corner barn. 

    Name: Johnny Bob

    Type: Thoroughbred

    Color: Bay

    Markings: Right hind sock, star, snip

    Sex: Gelding

    Birthday: 12/29/2004

Johnny Bob is a thoroughbred who ended up at Red Bell Run through a series of misadventures involving a riding program at a major university. Johnny Bob was found 15 minutes from loading onto a truck bound for Mexico. He had a tattoo which identified him as a thoroughbred and because of this his former owner was contact just in time. Tattoos and microchips are so important for your horse’s safety! Johnny Bob’s owner was horrified as he had been loaned to a major university for their equestrian program with the proviso that he be returned to her when they no longer needed him. Because someone didn’t read his file, he ended up in a sport horse auction where he was purchased by a kill buyer. Thankfully, he was identified at the kill pen and sent to Red Bell Run. Johnny has several issues including a propensity of ulcers as he is a bit high strung. At some point, he sustained an injury to his pelvis that prevents him from cantering comfortably. He is happy with his girlfriend Fancy at our Roadside Inn barn, and his playful, clownish personality makes him a barn favorite. 

    Name: Frodo

    Type: Haflinger Cross Pony

    Color: Strawberry Roan

    Markings: Blaze 

    Sex: Gelding

    Birthday: 12/24/2008

Frodo is a beautiful Haflinger cross pony who is as sweet as he is handsome. Adopted out to a family and meant to be a child’s first pony, Frodo was, unfortunately, not suited for the job. There were several near disasters in which Frodo would be standing quietly, but suddenly flee in terror. His adopters contacted the rescue that had placed Frodo with them and explained the situation. Understandably, Frodo just wasn’t working out; the adopters weren’t prepared to deal with a behavioral issue like this in a child’s pony. 

No one could figure out what was wrong, but the situation was dangerous. They would be forced to sell him if the rescue couldn’t take him back. That wasn’t an option anyone wanted to consider, and certainly not in Frodo’s best interest given the behavioral issues that had come to light. We were contacted – unless Frodo could be diagnosed or his behavior changed, he couldn’t safely be adopted out. Frodo is exactly the type of cute-as-a-button pony that would end up being passed around from home to home and finally to a trader because of his behavior, so we accepted him at Red Bell Run. We know that once even beautiful ponies like Frodo get on this merry-go-round, the chances are good they will end up in a bad situation. We don’t want that to happen to any equine and certainly not to sweet Frodo!

When Frodo arrived, we discovered that he is fine – as long as you’re in front of his withers. If you were any further back, he would suddenly bolt. We now believe that Frodo has a vision problem but he has learned to trust us and rarely has an issue anymore. He developed cancer in one eye that was successfully treated and we watch carefully for any reoccurrence. Frodo is now happy living at our Critters Corner shelter across from the Roadside Inn  barn. He has a young hinny named Isaac as a companion. They have become best friends and do everything together!