|
Published=20
August 17, 2008 05:23 pm - =
A=20
mission of mercy
Kingsville=20
woman loves disabled farm animals
By MARGIE TRAX PAGE - Staff Writer -=20
mtrax@starbeacon.com
Star Beacon =
KINGSVILLE =97 Tufts of grass =
blow in the=20
calm breeze at Storybook Acres, flies buzz and Ed the donkey =
takes a=20
good roll in the dust.
It is August at the rescue farm =
and winter=20
seems a long way off, snowflakes and ice are months away. =
But just=20
like clockwork, the cold weather is coming and the very =
thought of=20
it sends a little shiver down Michele Duchene-Marshall's =
spine. For=20
all the beauty of a northeast Ohio winter, Duchene-Marshall =
knows it=20
is the hardest time of the year for her babies.
Duchene-Marshall and her family =
own=20
Storybook Acres, a small rescue sanctuary for crippled or =
otherwise=20
disabled farm animals. Here on this carefully kept farm, =
goats=20
toddle around on prosthetic legs and hooves made of clay. =
Recovering=20
from a paralyzing stroke, Gracie Lu the pig snores in the =
kitchen=20
and Helen the blind dog keeps an ear to the opening of the =
cookie=20
jar.
Summer days are slipping away, =
leaving=20
Duchene-Marshall to wonder what winter will bring for her =
happy=20
menagerie.
=93I need help and I know it,=94 =
she said. =93I=20
have come to the realization that the winters are too hard =
on the=20
animals and I am hoping people will care as much as I do =
about=20
them.=94
Duchene-Marshall wants to add a =
10 foot by=20
12 foot heated clinic to the farm to help the critters =
survive,=20
especially Daisy the goat, who lost her sister Rosie last=20
winter.
=93Daisy is especially =
susceptible to=20
illness now,=94 Duchene-Marshall said. =93I worry about her=20
terribly.=94
The clinic will cost $5,000 to =
build,=20
Duchene-Marshall estimates. In anticipation of another =
overwhelming=20
winter, she has established the farm as a 501/3 =
organization,=20
meaning all donations to the construction are tax =
deductible.
=93I know there are people out =
there who=20
think I am completely nuts for doing this,=94 =
Duchene-Marshall said.=20
=93I mean, who in their right mind keeps a blind sheep? Who =
thinks it=20
is normal for a pig to sleep next to the washing =
machine?=94
=93I want this to be a place for =
these=20
animals to live out their lives free to roam around. They =
aren't=20
penned up and they get good, wholesome food. These animals =
have=20
suffered, often at the hands of humans. They have the right =
to be=20
cared for now,=94 she said.
Care simply isn=92t the word for =
what=20
Duchene-Marshall does for her animals. Gracie Lu is =
spoon-fed=20
oatmeal and pumpkin and Magnus, the new pig on the block, =
comes=20
running for a peppermint. Bennie the goat came to Storybook =
with two=20
broken knees and Shirley the goat has no legs, her =
prosthesis are=20
made of PVC pipe. Baby, the blind sheep, spent the majority =
of his=20
10 years in a pen until he came to Storybook Acres.
Gus the goat is a sweet creature =
made=20
sweeter with Duchene-Marshall=92s love.
=93Gus came to us with a =
shattered leg, his=20
owners said he was kicked by a horse,=94 Duchene-Marshall =
said. =93But=20
the most disturbing thing is that they left him with a =
broken leg=20
for four days before they brought him here. He spent hours =
in=20
surgery and now the vet said he can't believe how well our =
little=20
Gus is doing.=94
Duchene-Marshall spends her =
little spare=20
time writing stories about the animals for children and =
makes=20
fragrant soap from the goat=92s milk to sell to benefit the =
animals.=20
She gives tours of the farm, grows vegetables in her garden =
to sell=20
by the road, and mixes herbal ointments and liniments to =
sell, all=20
for the care of the animals.
=93I make the soap and write the =
stories and=20
give the tours to show that these animals have so much left =
to give.=20
They have so much to teach us about animals and about who we =
are as=20
people,=94 Duchene-Marshall said.
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