Celebrate with us February’s Volunteers of the Month, Chloe & Allison!!
Chloe, Allison, and family
Allison and Chloe have been volunteering with SAFE for almost three years. They are a wonderful Mother/Daughter team that we have come to depend on for many reasons. They have a regular Sunday feeding shift and then come back for our very important Sunday night check. When we were looking for someone to take over making all the horses grain bags, they were the first to offer! If two shifts plus making grain bags wasn’t enough, they consistently volunteer for special events. You might remember Chloe as the lovely holiday elf who was holding Shasta at our Christmas Open House. We are truly lucky to have great volunteers like these two. Here is more about them in their words…
About 3 years ago, a friend posted about a SAFE Open House on Facebook. Chloe and I were excited to come visit, catch up with our friend, and see the terrific horse rescue barn that she had been telling us about. The first horse to really catch our attention was, of course, Strider. Such a beautiful boy and such a sad story; we were amazed that there was a group that was able to attend to his critical care needs and provide him with everything he needed for rehabilitation despite the likeliness that he would never be ridden again. As we walked around meeting volunteers and board members, we quickly knew that this was an organization we wanted to become involved with.
It’s had to say which horse at SAFE would be considered our favorite. Each has something so special about them. One group, though, that really stands out for us is Cameo, Sky, and Logan. When they arrived at the barn (was it December 23rd?) we happened to be free when many other volunteers were heading out of town and had already planned to pick up some extra shifts. This group of horses though, well they were a mess! Disoriented, disheveled, and extremely anxious, they needed care in ways Chloe and I hadn’t previously had experience with. I think we were at SAFE 4 or 5 times a day then, making sure Sky was settling, Logan was getting all the supplements he needed to prep for surgery, and hoping that Cameo wouldn’t crack her lovely, tangled head apart every time she reared in her stall (did I mention the crazy thundershowers that were going on?). Working with these incredibly resilient horses was a better gift for Chloe and I than any we could have received that Christmas. It still brings tears to my eyes to think of gentle, handsome Logan who lived through so much trauma and was sweet until the very end.
Outside of SAFE, Chloe is a homeschooled high school student who is on track to pursue a career in animal sciences, likely veterinary work. I am a busy homeschooling mom who also teaches at a local coop and is on the board of our local homeschool PTSA. We both enjoy knitting, gardening, and travel but the highlight of each week really is coming to SAFE on Sunday eves to spend time with our terrific Sunday PM crew and the greatest horses around 🙂
Thank you to Allison and Chloe for your dedication to the SAFE horses. You make such a difference in their lives!