Such a beautiful sunny day yesterday! Today? Rain. Tomorrow? Rain. But I don’t mind. We need rain in order for the grass to get green, for plants to grow, for trees to bud. I’m just happy to see all of the snow gone!
I spent a few hours working on the dollhouse yesterday, doing the tedious work of getting rid of all the excess glue. Applying heat – in my case, with a hairdryer – softens the glue. But getting it out of there involves scraping or using your fingernails, which is what I did. My sore fingers this morning indicate that I did a lot of that. But huzzah! I’m done!
There’s still some excess glue around the windows, but that will be fairly easy to deal with. Next up: my plan for the exterior. And that, if I do it right, is going to take a long time.
I want to share two things with you today.
Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while remember the story of Ashley and Pliers, the two horses that we fed every day on our trail walk. Ashley was the mother and Pliers the son. They were devoted to each other, but they lived in a muddy field and their owner was no longer capable of caring for them. They were in their thirties and Ashley was blind. Sometime she would fall and Pliers would stand guard over her. And Pliers wouldn’t let anyone get near her. He never left her side.
Some good neighbors intervened and temporarily housed them until the wonderful Catskill Animal Sanctuary took them in. That was 29 months ago. If they hadn’t taken them in, both horses would have died.
Today, on Instagram, there was a post from Catskill Animal Sanctuary:
“When 35-year-old blind Ashley, terrified of humans, and her 33-year-old son arrived here in October of 2016, we thought they had just weeks to live; they were dangerously attached to each other and had myriad health problems. In fact, Ashley’s back end gave out when she walked. But expert and exhaustive care (even helping them up when they couldn’t stand), exercise, and an abundance of love, likely gave them the best 29 months of their long lives. With their health rapidly declining and falls more frequent, it was time for our final act of love. Goodbye, teachers. Goodbye, old friends. Goodbye, Ashley and Pliers. You are forever in our hearts.”
My heart is breaking.
But without the Sanctuary, they would have been gone much sooner. Everyone at the Sanctuary lavished their time and care on them. Pliers began to feel less need to protect Ashley. He felt comfortable leaving her to come to the fence or for training. Ashley was tended by volunteers who were experienced in working with blind horses. The quality of life for both of them improved greatly.
I’m very sad. It’s hard to grasp that they are gone. But they went together and I know that it would have been impossible for either of them to continue without the other.
Farewell, Ashley and Pliers. You were loved by many.
You know what? That’s enough for today. I’ll save the other ‘share’ for tomorrow.
Let’s leave this post with a photo of these two beautiful souls.
Ashley.
Pliers.
Rest in Peace, my friends.
Happy Thursday.
oh …
i am sad for all the troubles ashley and pliers had. that is what i am feeling the most right now … sadness for the hard things they went through and that you all are heartbroken. but i will focus on their love for each other, the goodness of you, don and other people who love and helped them and that ashley and pliers knew and know that love. i will focus on the fact that they made that final journey together and are together forever. then i won’t be crying.
bittersweet as it is, thanks for the update.
hope you do something nice for yourself today. every day, really, but especially today.
kathy in iowa
Bittersweet, indeed. But I am comforted knowing the love and affection lavished on them in the past 2 1/2 years. Thanks, Kathy.
RIP 💔 A&P 🌈
A sad day, Shanna.
I’m heartbroken. But I also know they were together, and finally felt loved and safe. Pliers and Ashley taught us a lot about loyalty and love.
Claudia, give your hands a good soak in very warm herbal water, and then slather them in your favorite hand cream and put on some cotton gloves. Your hands deserve some me time after all the scrapping you’ve done!
I am so sad today.
Thanks for the tip. I don’t have any cotton gloves, but I have slathered them with hand cream. Thanks, Wendy.
tears have filled my eyes as I read this.
and then to read that their last days and weeks were filled with such kindness and love at the Sanctuary. that they finally could enjoy life and each other the way they should have.
to know that they both went to the final sleep together. and with that amazing love between them.
and one not having to grieve alone. that would have been unthinkable given their bond.
bless the people who loved and cared for them in the end.
and bless all of you Claudia whose friendship and kindness they must have looked forward to.
thank you for letting us all know about Ashley and Pliers and their remarkable love and lives.
they put us humans to shame. XO
They do indeed.
And their owner loved them dearly. Raised them. He had issues and just couldn’t handle them any longer. He wanted to, but he just couldn’t. That was heartbreaking, too.
oh I’m so glad to know that about their owners! it makes me feel better. thank you!
You’re welcome.
Oh Claudia. You gave them the best possible part of their lives. You made it possible. You, the neighbor, and the shelter. All loving and caring people.
I know dogs and cats have a rainbow bridge. I wonder what horses have?
Several neighbors, Trudy, especially our friends who board horses and stepped in when it was necessary for the owner to surrender them.
Horses and any animal – I believe – cross the rainbow bridge.
Aw, geez. That was my first thought when I read about Ashley & Pliers. Aw, geez – that’s just so very sad. My eyes filled with tears. I loved reading about them when you first discovered them & was so happy when the Catskill sanctuary agreed to take them on. I even joined the CAS because of them & am an avid viewer of their videos. And of course, you’re right. They had a wonderful comfortable sunset of their lives there. But it’s still sad. REALLY sad. I am glad they went together – that is comforting. Neither would have been happy without the other, that’s for sure. And now their aches & pains are over – and Ashley can see her beautiful boy again. Aw geez, here I go again. May the Universe hold them in the light. Peace. 🌈
They are running and galloping as I write this. Of that, I am sure.
Such sad news. It is good to know how loved and cared for they were in their final months on this earth. Sad to know how badly they were treated before but the end was as it should have been. Together, loved and peaceful. I am always and forever thankful for those that care for the unwanted in our world. Hugs to you my friend.
I want to be clear that they weren’t badly treated. Their owner had mental health issues and just couldn’t keep up with them any longer. He loved them. He just couldn’t handle them and let it go on too long.
Thanks, Linda.
Thank you Claudia for clearing that up for me and others. I really misunderstood. I know many with health issues of all kinds have trouble letting go of their pets even when they can no longer care for them. I’m glad to know they were loved their whole lives.
They were. But his inability to care for them contributed to their failing health (at the time.) Efforts had been made to persuade him to surrender them in the past and he wouldn’t. He just couldn’t let go. I understand that. Finally, he realized that he had to, and as painful as it was, helped CAS load them onto the horse trailers. I know he went to visit them, too. This was the same man who, not long after, lost his house to fire. He’s been through a lot. The community, including us, contributed to a Go Fund Me campaign and he now has a lovely house trailer that’s new and clean and safe.
He worked all his life as a farrier.
Oh, this has left me in tears. It’s mostly a beautiful story of how their ending years, thanks to kind and concerned people like you and the other neighbors/passersby, were as golden as could be for them. Just like elderly humans whose health declines, they needed help. Imagine had intervention never happened, falling in mud and rain, not being able to get up (attended by no one at the time they needed it [the owner only a sporadic presence]); was such a desperate situation for these two wonderful, loyal, equine souls. And then, rescue for them. Relief. For 29 months, life, not death. Calm, not trauma. Warm and dry, fed and medicated; love and attention.
Deepest sympathy, Claudia. You and Don were a part of something so good.
They would have died quickly without intervention, part of which was calling animal welfare and persuading the owner (who loved them dearly) to surrender them.
As sad as I am, and I’m very sad, I’m comforted to know that they were loved and adored by animal lovers who honored them every day. Thanks, Vicki.
to vicki …
hi! it’s nice to see your name in the comments again! even though this isn’t my blog, can i still say “welcome back”?!? hope all’s well and you are happy! :)
kathy in iowa
Thank you; I’ve been pretty much reading here all along; just time to let somebody else ‘talk’! (Sometimes ‘life’ gets in the way of things we enjoy…have to take a pause [blog haitus’.].) Best to you, kathy, from MHC Reader Vicki
They were lovely animals. I’m so sorry they had to say farewell and know you must be very sad indeed.
It will be fascinating to watch you work on the house.
I’m very sad. It’s a rainy day, which seems appropriate.
Thank God for the Catskill Animal Sanctuary and ALL animal sanctuaries. So sad, but glad they had the last part of their lives together and full of such love and care.
Amen, Melanie. Thank you.
At least their final days were happy ones. They were loved and cared for and, in the end, that’s what we all want for anyone, human or animal. That said, I know well the final decision that “it’s time” to end the suffering of an animal is never an easy one.
On a brighter note (literally), I love how light-filled your cottage looks in that top picture, so warm and inviting. The designer for our kitchen reno was here many hours yesterday and we spent lots of time discussing window options. We’re going to add and make existing ones larger in our dark kitchen. So excited to see to the final product come August.
Windows make such a difference. We have so many of them here and, even though the trade off is not enough wall space, it’s worth it.
This whole saga of Ashley and Pliers is so moving. Amidst your sadness, I’m sure it must give you some comfort that their last couple of years were happy ones for them. Thank goodness for loving caregivers! ;)
Yes. I’m so happy they were cared for, were together (there was a moment there when we were unsure they would be given sanctuary together.) But CAS knew they had to be kept together. Bless CAS.
Just weeping. Sad, but beautiful they were so cared for and at least had love, kindness, and other nourishment for some of their long years. Terrible they were so long neglected. It’s amazing they had such long lives.
Gary & I will make a donation in their honor.
Please read my comments on this post and my words on today’s post. They were not willfully neglected. The responsibility just got to be too much for the owner. He loved them very much. Thanks, Cara.
So sorry about Ashley and Pliers. They were beautiful. Rest in Peace.
Marilyn
Thank you, Marilyn.
So Sad, but I am sure they are still together and romping in a lovely green field with nothing holding them back.
That’s how I envision them!
Such an interesting but sad post. My woman’s group discussed, this week, how to focus our love, money and volunteer time. The big question is where to start…If you are devoted to animals, children, health, addictions, etc….it doesn’t matter where you start! Just start! We have to choose our interests and we have to work for it, money or time. Get involved in a positive change. We can not depend on government or taxes, it is up to us.
Yes, indeed. Thanks, Gayle.
I am so glad that the last years were good and that they were well looked after and loved.
They were. They will be missed by so many.
This is so heartbreaking to hear Claudia…their love for each other was a wonderful thing…take comfort in knowing that they went together into their next adventure!
I know. It had to be that way. They couldn’t have survived without each other.
I know what that is. I once inherited two cats from a neighbor (I had no choice; he moved and just left them!). They were very elderly, these kitties, and were lifelong siblings. One was blind. The other was bigger and sort of her protector (her brother). Had always been outdoor animals, not accustomed to being handled or petted; I tried to do what I could for a couple of years; food, water, a good shed for shelter, immunizations (I got a one-time trap opportunity). But it all got to be too much for them AND me. The brother had begun to struggle; wasn’t eating. By then, they were both about age 17. That’s old for cats which only had borderline care most of their other lives. The vet agreed completely that ‘it was time’. I had them humanely euthanized; buried them together in the ‘Back 40’ where they used to lay in the sun amid a patch of faithful iris.
I’ve got the same thing right now with two feral cats, mother and son, age about 13 and 11; inseparable (she still grooms him; her baby). I’ve been feeding them and providing outdoor shelters for a dozen years (again, a OTO opportunity to humanely trap for neuter/spay). They’re largely feral and it will be hard to safely trap when ‘the time’ comes (to get them to the vet for that final trip), since they became wise to trapping – – but my intent will be, again, to not leave one without the other; the son would be absolutely lost without her; he simply wouldn’t make it. Their ‘lair’ or nest was disturbed two years ago with lot clearing for weed abatement on an adjacent (abandoned) property such that they were apparently then forced to sleep/hole-up separately, and he’s never been the same since (without Mommy). We’ve had a ton of rain (broke the 10-year drought), perpetually wet and muddy, and many cold nights over the past few months in SoCalif – – and I did, once, recently, see these elderly cats sharing a shelter for warmth, which was encouraging, and I hope it’s a new trend for them. But the 11-yr-old ‘baby’ won’t really eat unless his old mom is present. It’s like he can’t start his day without her; searching, searching – – til she eventually appears. And then he relaxes.
And ‘they’ say animals don’t have emotions and feelings … yeah, right.
So heartbreaking on every level. Makes me want to weep. Thanks, Vicki.