When Rescue Gets Complicated: A Donkey's Honest Take

Well hey there, friends! Samson here—your favorite fuzzy correspondent—with a lot to share this month. First off, apologies for the late update… things have been a little wild (and not just because of the horses!). It’s been a whirlwind of activity, and my human friends have had their hands—and hooves—full!

🎉 First up—Happy 14th Anniversary to Illinois Horse Rescue of Will County! That’s 14 years of rescuing animals and helping people. In that time, we’ve found forever homes for 891 animals and reached over 30,000 people through our FREE Outreach Programs. That's not just impressive—it's hoof-stomping amazing!

A curious donkey peers through metal bars, sporting a vibrant red halter, with a tree trunk visible in the background under a clear sky.

These years have been full of blood, sweat, laughter, tears, heartbreak, and healing. But through it all, IHRWC keeps showing up for animals like me. And we couldn’t do any of it without YOU, our supporters and donors.

💥 Speaking of busy—15 animals rescued and 12 adoptions just this last month (April 2025)! That’s some serious barn magic happening!

🐎 Now let’s talk about Peotone's Wild West moment...

On April 19th, eight young, untouched horses broke loose, and suddenly our quiet countryside felt like a stampede was coming through. But let me be clear—as a sensible donkey who's seen a thing or two—not everything you heard or read was true. There weren’t 20 horses running wild. The owner hadn’t skipped town. It was eight horses. Just eight. And most of the chaos? That came from the humans.

IHRWC stepped in quickly on that Saturday to try and help bring calm to a very confusing and chaotic situation. Despite all the noise, all the swirling rumors, my human friends focused on what they do best—rescue. Three young, frightened fillies were safely brought in. I remember meeting each one—one came on Easter Sunday, another on Wednesday, April 23rd, and the last arrived Saturday, April 26th. They were scared and unsure, but they were finally safe.

They were started on balanced meals, seen by our vet on April 30th, and yes, they’ve each been given names (though I still think I should’ve had a say in that). We believe they are standardbred crosses but we will say grade (a horse that breed is unknown).

But then came the unexpected.

We found out on May 1st that ownership of the fillies had been surrendered—without our knowledge—two days earlier, on April 29th. I won’t lie, that news hit my human friends hard. You see, they had poured more than 200 hours of volunteer time into catching of the fillies. That doesn’t even include the countless phone calls, coordination efforts, and daily hands-on work/ care with these previously unhandled horses.

On top of the time and heartache, the financial cost has been significant—over $2,500 in care alone as of today. We estimate our total cost from the beginning through July 1st would have been around $5,000. Our plan had been to prepare the fillies for adoption by that time, with an adoption fee of $500 each to help offset the expenses and support future rescues. We NEVER received any financial help from the original owner. So when HHH Ranch, now the legal owners, offered a $3,000 donation to support the fillies' care in exchange for us to deliver the girls to them instead of transferring ownership to IHRWC, our board made the VERY difficult decision to accept. It’s not easy, but as a nonprofit (that relies solely on donation) responsible for hundreds of animals each year, we have to think about the bigger herd. Today was one of those tearful days as we gave our final treats and soft nose boops, sending the three fillies off with LOTS of love on the next step of their journey.

To HHH Ranch—we offer a sincere thank you for covering the cost of the girls’ care during their time with us.

Saying goodbye to these three is EXREMELY gut-wrenching. We’ve never taken in a rescue horse we didn’t fully rehab and rehome ourselves. Not knowing what comes next for them weighs heavy on our hearts. We aren’t involved in their adoption process and couldn’t tell you how it works.

All we can do now is hope and pray they find loving, forever homes—homes that will commit to the full life (possibly 30+ years) ahead of them, no matter who they grow up to be. (A good cart pony or nice trial rider) They deserve that much. We would love updates from anyone who adopts! At this time, seven of the eight horses have been safely located—at least, as far as we’re aware.

And we’ll be here, continuing our mission, one hoof, paw, and heart at a time.

🐱 Barn Cat Program is OPEN!

We welcomed 10 working cats from Alabama, and they’ve already found homes! Help us break our record of 53 placed barn cats this year—working cats go fast, so get on the list!

💉 Spring Vet Day is May 7th!

It costs $205 per animal for spring shots and Coggins testing—not including dental work! We’re hoping to raise $3,000 to cover our vital medical care. If you’re able, please consider sponsoring one of my rescue pals (or yours truly—hint hint 😉).

Phew! That’s a lot of news for one little donkey. I’ll catch you all next month with more updates from the farm. Until then, thanks for loving us, supporting us, and cheering us on.

Your favorite long-eared reporter,

Samson 🐴💙