SYA currently has a new mascot, a majestic 19-year-old mule named Marlin who Ann saved from being shipped to slaughter on Christmas Eve 2009. Marlin’s father was a mammoth jack and his mother was a Belgian mare. A donkey daddy + mare mommy = mule.
Ann refers to Marlin as "a golden retriever in equine clothes" because he loves to follow people and be petted. He’ll even roll around on his back just to show off. It’s difficult to believe that anyone would send such a regal animal with so much personality to be slaughtered.
Marlin has won Ann’s heart so he’ll be staying on the farm rather than being placed elsewhere. Ann has been training Marlin to be a dressage mule. She said that he’s been great during the riding lessons and will surely appear at donkey and mule shows in the future.
During the first week of April two of the rescued donkeys on SYA farm will be relocated to Stoddard, NH where they will protect sheep. Donkeys and mules don’t like any invaders in their territory and will chase away the intruders. Ann has kept these two mammoth donkeys, Mamasan and Maggie May, until she could place them as a pair since they’ve lived together their entire life. One is 20-years old and the other is a teenager.
In November 2009 Ann acquired Loretta, a mule that she had tried to save three years ago when the animal got loose in Maine and the story made network news. Loretta’s owners neglected her and didn’t feed her properly. She is still skittish but has made great strides toward being socialized. Ann said that for the first month nobody could get near Loretta, so Ann would just sit in the far corner of the stall and speak gently to her.
SAVE YOUR ASS
If you want a happy ending to an animal story, Save Your Ass Long Ear Rescue in South Acworth is the place to go.
The president of SYA, Ann Firestone, has lovingly dedicated her life to the welfare of neglected, abused and abandoned donkeys and mules. Save Your Ass Long Ear Rescue is New England's only non-profit donkey and mule rescue service.
Ann is now in the process of trying to raise enough money to build a three-sided run-in shed for the quarantine area. When donkeys and mules first arrive on the farm they are kept in quarantine for a few weeks until it is determined that they are disease-free and can be fenced in with the other donkeys and mules.
By Gretchen Abendschein
Slideshow of SYA Farm
Loretta was raised (and neglected) with another mule named Isabella who was rescued by SYA three years ago and lives on Kris Anderson’s farm in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Kris is one of four other dedicated women who joined forces with Ann in January 2008 to form Save Your Ass Long Ear Rescue.
Isabella and Loretta will be reunited on the SYA farm in South Acworth. Once Loretta is fully rehabilitated the pair of mules will make their new home on a farm near Belfast, Maine.
The SYA farm in South Acworth is maintained with the help of a group of admirable local volunteers: Kris and Sandy, Mike and Damaris P., Alison W., Haila D., Annie K., Lydia B., Jess and Gail.
Donations are always appreciated and go directly to helping the rescued donkeys and mules in Ann’s care. To make a donation or to read more about Save Your Ass Long Ear Rescue and the devoted women who run the organization click here: www.saveyourassrescue.org
Save Your Ass Long Ear Rescue has two upcoming events in Langdon, NH:
Ride/Critique/Ride
Saturday, April 17 & Sunday, April 18, 2010
Dressage Schooling Show
(Lead-line, Intro A&B, Training Level)
Special Awards for Best Donkey, Best Mule and Best Horse
Saturday, April 24 & Sunday, April 25, 2010
Both events will take place at Langwood Farm, a 72 X 160 Indoor Arena, 203 Winch Hill Road, Langdon, NH.
All proceeds will benefit Save Your Ass Long Ear Rescue.
For Information & Entry Form Contact:
Joan Stratemeyer at 603-835-2423
joans@myfairpoint.net
www.langwoodfarm.com
Current quarantine area on SYA Farm
Click to enlarge
Ann Firestone with Marlin, the new
four-legged ambASSador for SYA
Click to enlarge