Key Bank volunteers help abused horses
On Tuesday, May 20th, a special group of Key Bankers appeared at the farm facility of the MSSPA to donate their time and talent on behalf of horses seized from neglect or abuse situations. The horses of the Society give a great big whinny to Windham, Maine Key Bank employees Kathy Gilman, Diana Gagne, Paige Johnson, Derek Hebert, Debra Matthews, and John Grolley. MSSPA President Marilyn Goodreau welcomed the enthusiastic volunteers to the farm at 279 River Road and thanked them for taking their time to be good “neigh – bors” to the rescued animals and farm staff. The Key Bank employees were treated to a brief tour of the big barn by Barn Manager Becky Jones. As the volunteers were introduced to the various horses and learned about the past mistreatment and cruelty endured by the animals, they expressed disbelief and frustration at those responsible. When asked why volunteers don’t provide hands on assistance with the feeding, grooming, and care of the horses, Marilyn and Becky explained to the group that many of the horses in the Society’s barns have experienced a level of mistreatment and starvation that has broken their trust in human beings. Some of the horses forever carry the psychological damage that can occur when beatings, starvation, neglect, or misuse take place. As the volunteers learned, it takes some of the horses a great deal of time to heal both physically and mentally from the horrors of their pasts and to rebuild trust in human caregivers. As a result, some of the rescued horses at the Society can exhibit behaviors that make hands-on volunteer participation a potential risk for the horses and the volunteers. “Consistency of personnel, routine feeding and handling procedures, and predictability are all elements that go into rebuilding trust in these beautiful animals, “ Ms. Goodreau told the group.
Outside, under a bright blue sky with puffy white clouds, the Key Bank volunteers rolled up their sleeves and got to work scraping and painting an enormous section of board fencing around a back pasture. Sporting bright red T-shirts emblazoned with the legend “Community is Key”, the group of four women and two men quickly developed an efficient system for scraping and re-painting the fence. The breeze blew just enough to keep the flies at bay, the sounds of horses calling to one another from paddocks all around the farm filled the air, and there was a good deal of laughter between the volunteer painters. It was a spectacular spring day in South Windham, one that was the perfect setting for bringing together committed, public service minded local people with an unmet need of New England’s largest equine rescue and rehabilitation facility. The results included new friends and neighbors leaning more about one another and the animals who share our lives, and a gleaming white fence marking greener pastures for horses who deserve them.
The directors, officers, staff, and animals of the Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals salutes and thanks our Key Bankers for generously giving of themselves and giving back to their equine “neigh-bors!”
The MSSPA is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt public charity. Please take a moment to make a donation to help support its mission of rescue and rehabilitation for neglected or abused large animals. Your generosity will be appreciated and your dollars will go directly to the care of the animals. Better yet, join our herd and become a member of the MSSPA. You may join up online or download/print a membership form and send it to the Society by ordinary paper mail or telephone the administrative office between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm Monday through Friday. Provide the MSSPA with your email address and we will send news and information from the Society directly to your InBox. Thank you for helping the animals of the Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals.