Much-Loved “Pasture Pet”—one of Five Adopted during April—is no Longer Homeless
METHUEN, Mass., May 1, 2017 – The MSPCA-Nevins Farm today capped a successful campaign to place as many “companion horses”—those equines no longer able to carry a rider due to age or medical conditions—into permanent homes as possible in a 30-day span.
All told five out of nine companion horses found new homes in April, a month in which the farm waived the standard $200 companion horse adoption fee.
“We couldn’t be more grateful for the community’s response to our call for adoptions,” said barn manager Gia Barss, whose team oversaw the equine adoptions during the month-long campaign. “These horses are just as loving as any other, and to see that recognized by new adopters far and wide is really gratifying.”
Adopters from Across the State
Adopters from Massachusetts towns as far afield as Wilmington and Harvard stepped forward to adopt companion horses in April—and one of the horses was adopted by a family in Vermont. Among those who went home is “Socks,” who had lived at Nevins Farm since 2013 and watched hundreds of other horses come and go before he too was adopted by a Harvard family. Socks left Nevins Farm on Sunday, April 30.
The recently concluded adoptathon is Nevins Farm’s second fee-waived campaign aimed at horses. The first, in November 2016, saw the adoption of six companion horses.
“Not only has the fee-waived campaign shone a spotlight on horses that all too often are overlooked, but it has created more space to ensure we can accommodate future [surrendered] animals,” said Barss.
The Call for Adopters Continues
Despite the extraordinary success of this latest fee-waived adoptathon, Barss continues to ask that adopters open their homes, barns and fields to animals in need. “We’re so happy that these five horses went home but we still have three more companion horses who’ll need homes.”
The three remaining companion horses—21-year-old “Lilly,” 18-year-old “Peaches” and 17-year-old “Ghost”—have been awaiting homes for years and Barss hopes that the publicity generated by this recent spate of adoptions means all three will soon be adopted.
“Even as the adoptions were taking place in April we took in three more horses, a goat, two pigs and dozens more farm birds,” said Barss of the busy April surrender period. “And year-to-date Nevins Farm has taken in 10 horses, nine goats, 10 pigs, two cows and two alpacas—so we remain quite full.”
To view adoptable animals at the MSPCA-Nevins Farm, and for more information about the adoption process, readers can click here.
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The MSPCA-Angell is a national and international leader in animal protection and veterinary medicine and provides direct hands-on care for thousands of animals each year. Founded in 1868, it is the second-oldest humane society in the United States. Services include animal protection and adoption, advocacy, humane education, law enforcement, and world-class veterinary care. The MSPCA-Angell is a private, non-profit organization. It does not receive any government funding nor is it funded or operated by any national humane organization. The MSPCA-Angell relies solely on the support and contributions of individuals who care about animals. Please visit www.mspca.org.
