Nova's Final Expenses

Losing Nova
Our beautiful Nova, lesson horse, one of her many talents. Here with student Sammy.

On January 21st, our beloved sanctuary resident, Nova, became violently ill. A quick call to our veterinarian resutled in a rapid response arrival for evaluation and intial treatment. Nova wasn't responding to pain medication as the vet had hoped and so it was decided to move her to the clinic for in hospital care. After a very stressful 40 minute trailer trip to Wolf Creek Equine Hospital in Lothian, she was further evaluated and signs seemed positive. She recieved top notch care including fluids, pain management and monitoring. However, she failed to fully respond to management for her pain despite the best efforts of the attending veterinarian and staff and through the day, she continued to decline, indicating a surgical intervention would be required. Nova was 27 and had cushings as well as other age related issues that made her a poor candidate for the heavily invasive abdominal surgery that would be required. Further, her extreme levels of pain that could not be managed made it impossible to transport her over an hour away to a surgical facility. The hardest decidion we were ever faced with was upon us and we had to make the best decision for Nova, who always did her best for us. At 10pm that night, surrounded by several of those that loved her most, we laid her to rest. 

As a sanctuary for geriatric and special needs animals, we have said goodbye many times over the years, but Nova was different. Her loss was so sudden and unexpected. She was a vital part of every sanctuary program we have and she touched the lives of so many. Since she stepped off the trailer to become one of our first permanent residents in 1999, she has never failed to exceed every expectation we had for her. From lesson horse to show horse, camp pony parade dress ups to unicorn picnics, working with veterans to working with special needs students, she did it all with a kindess and heart so exceptional that she leaves a void in our hearts and entire sanctuary program.

Nova's veterinary expenses from the initial farm call, to the hospital fees, to the cremation, have devastated the small winter budget of our small nonprofit. We have recieved generous donations to cover her $900 cremation and a small amount towards her veterinary expenses, but we have a staggering $2000 veterinary bill still to pay. At a time of year when we have to purchase extra hay and feed to see to the daily needs of our remaining residents, this would cover almost an entire month of costs. We need your help to pay off her bill so we can continue to focus on the needs of the horses, ponies, minis, sheep, goats, pigs and cat in our care. Won't you help us continue to make the very best decisions for our animals and continue to provide opportunities, like the ones Nova provided, to our community?

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Nova with visitors at an outreach event.
Nova with her special friend, Amber, and family, after competing in therapeautic classes at a horse show. #teamnovamber



Definition of a supernova:
the explosion of a star, possibly caused by gravitational collapse, during which the star's luminosity increases by as much as 20 magnitudes and most of the star's mass is blown away at very high velocity, sometimes leaving behind an extremely dense core.

She went out true to her name and she burns brighter than ever in our memories 

Champagne Supernova
1991 to 2018

Nova and her friends Mia and Sammy during bareback riding at summer camp. She loved little kids and brought so much joy to their faces.
Nova working with veterans from Walter Reed.