Gypsy and Justice’s Healing Journey

As so many of you have followed the story of Gypsy and Justice over the last few days, I speak for the entire team when I say thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Gypsy and Justice were rescued by small town American hero’s yesterday off of Rye Rd in Bradenton after more than 15inches of rain dumped on the already saturated property in less then 24 hours and then the county opened the dam which quite literally backs up to the property. As a bad situation turned into every horse owners worst nightmare- These horses were never alone as she refused to leave them. She and a family member stood in chest deep water with them for 30plus hours never letting go but truth be told, it’s is by the grace of God that we were able to get them out. They were over a mile back in a heavily wooded area that was inaccessible by anything other than a John boat and even that proved to have its own challenges.

The water was well above their heads in many places as the property sits very low and the canopy of trees, power lines in the water, barbed wire fences that surrounds the property that we couldn’t see made the process heart wrenching but we had to try and with a team of relentless bleeding hearts, we were able to successfully get them out and to higher ground.

As you can imagine; the family has lost a lot of things and the care for Justice and Gypsy will be extensive and expensive. Gypsy’s skin has begun sloughing which is what happens when animals stand in water for too long. The hide literally has started to melt away from her legs. Because of the open wounds, she is at very high risk of life threatening infection. Justice, although the better of the two has COPD, heaves, cushings and is known to be a non sweater. He is also at high risk for sloughing and the same infection in his body. With cushings, the immune system is already compromised. Both have had temperatures but they are decreasing and for that we are incredibly grateful but we are still at risk for pneumonia and other things due to them having to hold their heads so high for long periods of time out of the water.

The next few days of their lives is a crucial part of their healing journey and the amount of care that they need is extraordinary. If you know horses, you know that things can change rapidly.

They also cannot go back to their homes for quite sometime, certainly not during hurricane season ever again and there will need to be some testing done due to the amount of animals that I am sure that have perished back there. The risk of infection in these horses, what they are breathing in and living in will be handled with the utmost care and best of intentions for them and those updates will follow as we get further into the journey.

We are raising funds for Gypsy and Justice’s care. Every dollar donated will go towards the vet bills that are quickly accumulating, Cushings medicine for Justice, the antibiotics that they are on, pain medication, and the prescription medications that are needed to help them fight through this time as well as all the necessities needed to give them the best chance at survival. This is also providing that something doesn’t go terribly wrong.

We will stop at nothing to see this through.

They are currently standing at a local farm with around the clock care and love. We haven’t stopped this mission, and infact, it’s only just begun.

If you have followed this story and you feel led, any dollar amount helps. I will continue to provide updates on Gypsy and Justice with every visit.

Thank you all for your unwavering love and support, prayers and well wishes. I know there are people who lost sleep over this story.

As it was put to me yesterday before we rescued them by a sheriff- this would be absolutely impossible task.

Yesterday I learned that nothing is impossible with the right village.

If you cannot donate to Gypsy and Justice, we do understand however if you can share this message out, we would greatly appreciate it.

We are forever in debt to the community and I am honored to be at the forefront of this journey for Gypsy and Justice and working with people who know exactly what to do to help them heal.

to be continued, hour by hour, one day at a time

-Dana English