Meet Our Furry Friends!
At The Rescue Barn, K9 Airlift's animal sanctuary, there are plenty of new friends to be found. We have bunnies, cats, dogs, horses, pigs, chickens, burros, and much more!
Sir Francis Bacon
A black and white potbelly pig, Sir Francis Bacon, also known as Frank, is the greeter at the Rescue Barn. As a young pig, he was found running around in a rural area that had many coyotes and feral hogs that would have made him into a quick snack. He was picked up by animal control and taken to a dog pound, where he lived for about a month. The dogs looked at him like he was a BLT and he became stressed, losing a lot of weight.
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Eventually, someone from the inside of the Houston loop adopted him, but she was not knowledgeable about pigs and their behaviors. She was incensed when he rooted in her backyard, and wanted him gone. We picked him up before he was returned to the pound and he has flourished at the Rescue Barn ever since.
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Now at a healthy two hundred pounds, Sir Francis greets guests that come to the farm. He is best friends with Fandango, a miniature horse. He loves attention from guests in the form of back and belly rubs. During the summer, he likes to cool off in a kiddie pool. Due to his dry skin, we have to rub lotion into his back; his skin is moisturized and it helps keep mosquitoes away, so he is the best smelling pig this side of Dallas.
Fandango
Fandango is a miniature horse that has the biggest personality. He is over thirty years old, and very handsome to boot. He is very smitten with the mares on the farm, who are two to three times his size. Sadly, none of them care for his attention and his love remains unrequited.
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Fandango was a prize winning miniature horse who sired many beautiful foals and put a lot of money into his owner's pocket. When he could no longer sire anymore foals, his selfish owner turned him loose on a back country road to fend for himself. He was picked up by animal control and taken to a shelter, where he developed a respiratory infection, became underweight and his coat had lost his luster.
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We took him in, gave him antibiotics and feed to help bring his weight back up. After several months, Fandango was back to being a stunning little stallion. He has his own stall in the barn and races along the fence line that separates him from the mares to try and impress them.
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Fandango has a constant companion and friend in Sir Francis Bacon, a potbelly pig. He is a favorite among the little girls that come and visit, they love to brush and braid his thick mane, as well as shampoo him. However, if they aren't quick to get him into his stall, he will drop and roll in the first patch of dirt he comes across. Boys will be boys, even if they are a thirty year old stallion.
Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia is a beautiful Belgian mare, who is as large as the constellation she was named after. We decided to buy a 4.5 acre of parcel which had a ten stall horse barn and an old farm house. Not long after, we were told of some horses that were being badly neglected, and that one of them was a Belgian mare, and we decided to take her without even seeing her.
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When we went to pick her up in a second hand horse trailer, we saw that she was malnourished and that they had docked her tail. She was still a sight to behold. Belgians are huge horses, close to the size of a Clydesdale. Her owners told us that she was not friendly, but this big sorrel mare came immediately to the fence and made eye contact with me. She neighed good-bye to the other horses there; ready to leave that life behind.
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She kept her distance for a few weeks, but I began to bringing a book and lawn chair and would read in the pasture with her there. Cassie slowly ventured closer and developed a trust in me, when she realized I only brought her treats and talked to her in a loving manner. It eventually developed to the point that she accepted me on her back. We love and cherish all of the animals that was have here, but Cassie is as special to me as any human, and has led the way for our farm animal rescue to grow and flourish.