Fergus then and now

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FERGUS!   One year old on November 13th.

Stella

 From this cantankerous, un-huggable little minx a few months ago :

To this:

This is why I do rescue.

Stella Smith, English Pointer, famous for digging expeditions, intolerant of the cold, feline and svelte.

Change is Hard

 She's gone.

After almost 20 years, my Big Girl is going on to help somebody else.

Ever list something for sale and hope no one calls?  My horse trailer was used for rescues.  That's what I wanted her to keep doing. Two women with rescued draft horses offered me the asking price.  One in Nevada, the other North Alabama.  Don't say it's a no-brainer; you don't know how I can complicate things.  The climate in Nevada is better for a 65 year old steel trailer, but the buyer in North Alabama has an equipment shed.  I was prepared to drive to meet the Nevada buyer halfway. Would the Alabama buyer know how to maintain it? 

I discover her husband is a fellow MOPAR nut who's restoring an old muscle car she said. Sold.  With less than a total of 4 hours of sleep in 48 hours (back-to-back school projects), I take off for 12 hours on the road, one last haul.  I get to the buyer's house and make a bee line for the covered car and take a peek.  I almost pee my pants:  a 1971 Plymouth Road Runner.  I know a B-Body MOPAR when I see one. 

If I won the lottery, I'd be rolling down the road with my favorite car of all-time:  1969 Dodge Super Bee.  

Unfortunately, this one already sold for 145k.  I've driven a fancy 125k Mercedes SUV, meh.  A 440 engine with 4 speed manual transmission versus a computerized box on wheels. No brainer.  But, I digress.... my trailer....

Yes, I abandoned my trailer and weaved my sobbing self back home.  Not before giving her some last smooches.

Thanking her for being the house I lived in for 6 months while building my house, for always keeping my oxen and horses safe, for being my partner in hauling horses from kill pens and abusive situations.

Her new owner just pulled an overworked monstrous Belgian from a Wisconsin kill pen.  She definitely needs the extra tall front stall.  

And just like that, I turn the page and start another chapter in my life.  Change is hard.  I will grieve the loss of the iconic trailer for another week, then I'll put my big girl pants on and move forward with the next Plan.