Our Sanctuary was spared by the tornado which killed and destroyed human and animal lives in the small town of Lone Grove, only 15 miles from us. But more trouble was to come. The drought we had experienced for some time, continued. Luckily we had hay for our animals from the past year, which had been donated to our rescued farm animals. We counted our blessings and gave thanks to God. Then, with the changing of the weather that brought 50 to 65 miles an hour winds, fires started everywhere. It started a few days before the Easter weekend. It was an inferno that will not soon be forgotten.
Every person got somehow involved with putting out fires or rescuing lives. Suddenly, stock trailers arrived in our driveway. People came and loaded up our animals. Almost all of them were taken to safety. Bulldozers drove through fences and dug trenches to keep the fire from spreading onto the property. City officials, firemen, private citizens, friends, strangers, members all came and did what they could, to stop the fires around us.
And while everyone did their best throughout many counties, our foster home only 1 mile from us lost 4 dogs, 2 of them puppies and 4 cats. One of the puppies was scheduled for a veterinary appointment the next day. The little female had been beaten with a baseball bat by her owner and was supposed to be euthanized, along with 6 other, beautiful dogs, before we found out and rescued them.
Thanks to a Hero, a private citizen who came with his Bulldozer and moved everything that was on fire, opened up the kennels and turned the rest of the dogs loose, the house and the rest of the animals survived. All the dogs returned on their own after the fire. At 2:00 a.m. after the fire we took 2 dogs, which were still alive but were severally burned to the vet. One did not survive. The second one is patiently dealing with surgeries and treatments, but is still in critical condition.
Besides the lives of the animals we also lost material things, such as: kennels, doghouses, carriers, dog food, etc. and also a stock trailer. The cows on the property which are owned by a rancher, survived by standing in the pond while the fire burned around them. We heard and did see animals
such as deer, cattle and wild pigs that died in fires everywhere. Even though our grief is great for all of them, including our dogs and cats that did not survive, we are thankful to God for protecting the rest of them.