Tragic Fire Devastates Horse Helper's Family
Tragedy has struck a young family closely connected to the horse rescue world.
In the pre-dawn hours of Saturday morning (Dec. 12, 2020), fire completely destroyed the home of Jason and Tazneem Hopkins of Onyx, California.
Jason is the son of Marlene Dodge, who most equine advocates and rescuers know well. She is the director of Valley View Ranch Equine Rescue in King City, CA-- and is a major nationwide transporter of at-risk horses- both wild and domestic. Over the years Marlene has probably helped- in some way, as many people and equines as anyone in the country. Now she (her family) needs us.
Here's what happened:
In the night, Jason heard rain starting to fall, so he got out of bed and went outside to cover up their horse hay. While he was out, he turned toward the house and discovered flames shooting up from the attic. He ran to the house, yelling for Tazneem to grab their baby (a precious seven month old little girl), and get out of the house. They got out, but barely escaped-- in only their pajamas. No other clothing, no wallets, not ID, no phones, nothing. Their two dogs were in the house, but could not be found, didn't come when called, and sadly, were lost to the fire.
The fire was apparently caused by faulty wiring in the attic.
The loss of their home and their beloved dogs would be a horrible tragedy for any family, but the tragedy of that night doesn't end there. Some of their horse fencing was damaged and their four horses got out. During the turmoil, one of the horses was hit and killed on the highway near the house.
Just imagine. This is a young couple with their first baby, a darling baby girl named Elle. Things had already been tough for some time because of Covid-related work reductions (Jason is an independent mechanic and Tazneem trains horses), but Christmas was just 12 days away- their baby's first Christmas, so they were excited and feeling positive. Remember what a big deal a baby's first Christmas is for any family? Now, what was to be the best Christmas of their lives will undoubtedly be their worst.
Fleet of Angels can help with an emergency horse hay grant for their three surviving horses, but that barely touches the surface of what this family needs.
Christmastime! No home, no place to work, no belongings, nothing. Just imagine. They're staying with friends of Marlene temporarily, but will have to start from scratch- again, to make a home for their family.
As funds come in, Fleet of Angels will advance the Hopkins family that amount money so they'll have funds available to use right away. (Go Fund Me makes payments on fundraisers only once a month, so our advancing the funds to the Hopkins' will be helpful. They will need so many things, and right away.)
We'd love to raise much more than the amount we've chosen as the goal, since so much more will be needed to make then anywhere near whole, so if we reach the first goal, we'll adjust it up, hoping to help in a bigger way.
Will you please help Marlene's son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter get through this terrible time by making a contribution to this fund ? 100% of the money raised will go to them, of course, minus GoFundMe fees. Or, you can go directly to our donate button on our website to donate via other options.
Thank you all.
Teamwork works!
www.FleetOfAngels.org
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