What to Name Her?

We have a beautiful and gentle new mare in the program today. She is 19 years old and in emaciated condition. Her Body Condition Score is 2 out of 9. She is covered in mud on account of living in a deep muddy pasture with no shelter. She also has a large chronic wound on her hind leg...

Her road to recovery will be a long one, but we are sure that we can help her. Now if we can just think of a new name for her.... any suggestions?

Art is well on his way to being A-okay!

Art was abandoned on a country road in West Petaluma in late January, 2011. He came into the CHANGE Program emaciated... but he has done well in rehabilitation! He has gained weight while being pampered in a loving CHANGE Program foster barn. Recently, he got his teeth powerfloated too! He was a perfect gentlemen the whole time! He will be ready for adoption soon!

Daisy is ready for a new home!

Daisy is the sweetest little Arab mare you could ever meet! She sailed through her rehab and is now ready for a loving adoptive home! As it turns out,,, she is able to be ridden! She is well- trained in western pleasure and she does well with kids. Check her out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2LjVe4cSe0

If you are interested in meeting Daisy, please contact: Katie@sonomachangeprogram.com

Nonie is "Ears Forward" and Ready for a New Home!

NONIE was rescued from starvation in November 2009 from a pasture in Santa Rosa. She was so emaciated that it has taken the CHANGE Program some five months to rehabilitate her to the point where she is ready for adoption. Nonie still has some weight to gain, but she's ready to join a home where will be loved and cherished in her well-earned retirement.

Learn more about Nonie here.

This sweet, content senior mare is easy to handle, completely bombproof, and just happy to be loved. In fact, her foster home named her "Nonie" due to her grandmotherly nature. For more information on Nonie, please contact CHANGE Program Adoption Coordinator Katie Moore at Katie@SonomaChangeProgram.com or by calling Katie at home at (707) 544-7584.

Crystal Finds Love...And a Forever Home

While Crystal was in foster care, a boarder who had recently lost her two elderly horses met her...and unexpectedly fell in love.

"I knew I'd get another horse someday," writes Crysal's adopter, Saskia, in her adoption application, "and when I met Crystal I knew she was the one."

Saskia goes on to say "I want to adopt (Crystal) so that I can give her the great life she deserves. She will be my companion and friend."

Crystal got lucky, too. Her new person, Saskia, is a professional equine massage therapist!

Congratulations to Crystal and Saskia on their newfound partnership. It's happy endings like this that help the volunteers of the Sonoma CHANGE Program keep doing their work.

See you on the trails, Crystal and Saskia!

Socks gets cosmetic surgery, thanks to friends

The Sonoma County CHANGE Program provides all necessary health services to horses in the custody of the Sonoma County Animal Care and Control Department. Such procedures include dental work, vaccinations, deworming, hoof care, diet programs, wound management, etc. CHANGE takes careful measures to make sure that the hard earned dollars that generous patrons donate to the program only go towards paying for necessary procedures to make the horse healthy.

Cosmetic procedures, such as removing a skin tag off of "Socks'" nose, is not considered by CHANGE to be a medically necessary procedure. The skin tag was purely cosmetic, and did not threaten the health of the horse at all.

However, a group of concerned foster moms wanted to treat Socks to a day at the plastic surgeon. They pooled together some money and paid for her to have the skin blemish surgically removed today. She was a perfect lady for the procedure, and it only took about 15 minutes! Now she is an even more gorgeous gal, and the sutures will come out in 14 days to reveal her extreme makeover!

Nonie still has her ears forward

The dedicated crew at Nonie's foster care facility just cannot get over her enthusiasm for life! Despite having a full body fungal skin infection (a.k.a. "rain rot"), Nonie still keeps on truckin! She has lost large patches of hair all over her body, but she has not let it slow her down. She is still eager to get out and eat grass every day and is not at all embarrassed by her coat. She is just happy to be here, in the care of such gentle people.

She is slowly gaining weight on a diet of green grass, alfalfa hay, equine senior and rice bran / wheat germ oil. One step at a time... one step at a time.