We received this beautiful, heartbreaking letter from Tilly’s adopter, who said goodbye to her heart horse after 11 years together. We are so grateful for everything Anna and her family did for this beautiful mare, and we wish them comfort at this very sad time.
Dear SAFE staff and volunteers,
11 years ago, my family and I adopted Emmy (Tilly) to be my 4H teammate and all around best friend. For 11 years Emmy took the best possible care of me! Teaching me, loving me, and growing with me. While under my care we accomplished so much together! From 4H shows to schooling events, even rodeos. She always put in 110% effort for me and always kept me safe! She even came to college with me for a year and taught so many other young riders the same lessons she taught me.As you are aware, Emmy is almost 25 years old and has Metabolic issues. The past couple of months she has become more and more uncomfortable and sore in her everyday life. We have tried tirelessly to keep her comfortable the best we could, using pain management, diet adjustments and easy exercise. Despite all of our efforts unfortunately this past week things have taken a turn for the worse. Emmy can no longer get up on her own when she lays down, and no matter how much bute we give her she’s still extremely sore, stiff and uncomfortable. She’s losing weight rapidly and her quality of life is truly suffering. With the opinions of my trainer, parents and veterinarian, we have decided that the best and most humane thing for Emmy is to put her to sleep. It absolutely destroys me to let her go, but it hurts me even more to see her in constant pain.
I can’t thank SAFE enough for bringing this sweet lady into my life 11 years ago and giving me not only my heart horse but my lifelong best friend. Every little girl deserves to grow up with a pony and I was the LUCKIEST little girl to get to grow up with Emmy. We have an appointment scheduled for tomorrow (Friday) morning to have her favorite vet come out and help her cross the rainbow bridge. I know several of your volunteers loved Emmy and I want to give them the chance to say goodbye over FaceTime or Skype if they would like. I have attached a couple photos of my sweet girl to show our growth together. Thank you so much for saving my sweet Angel 12 years ago, I will be forever grateful.
-Sincerely, Anna C.
