My husband and I have made Bainbridge Island home for a
number of years after realizing what a special community Bainbridge is. Neighbors helping neighbors with a thriving
warmth and spirit unmatched in many communities. We would live nowhere else.
With a desire to be more
involved in the community, in addition to a love of rescuing once treasured
items in need of a new home, I created a successful vintage shop in downtown
Winslow for many years. It was an absolute
joy for me to be involved in the community in this way and to have the
opportunity to meet even more of our special neighbors, many of whom have
become cherished friends through the years.
It
was, however, with my life-long love of animals in mind, that I began to dream
of helping animals in bigger way and doing so within our wonderful island
community.
I wasn’t sure what form this
would take, except that I wanted to make a difference and help rescue animals
in need. I knew I would need a space to
shelter larger animals as those often suffer from neglect and can be difficult
to re-home, especially if they have health and behavioral issues.
Synchronicity
soon intervened and I learned of a dilapidated farm for sale in desperate need
of repair and rebuilding. I saw so much
potential in the property and what it could become, but more importantly, it
already felt like a sanctuary and I could envision needful animals thriving there. I felt instantly the property needed me as
much as I needed it.
We began
the long process of repairs and rebuilding the farm, but long before we were
ready to even think about opening our doors to animals, synchronicity
intervened again, when I learned of a mini-horse, Melody, in need of
rescue.
I knew
I couldn’t save every horse, and I knew rebuilding the farm would take time,
but I also know that in many instances timing is exactly what it needs to be
for the situation. While the farm
wasn’t ready, Melody needed rescue immediately and we would find a way to make
it work.
It
was winter and we had only one space that could be temporarily improvised into
a stall. It was formerly used to hold
firewood and was rotting and decaying.
We welcomed Melody to her little horse home with many
blankets hung to protect her from the winter weather. We knew that had to change and quickly, but
it would have to do for that moment.
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