LETTER FROM DEFHR VOLUNTEER:

Dear Days End volunteers, sponsors and supporters,

     Juli started this petition to enlighten you on changes in the euthanasia policy at DEFHR.  She and Caitlin have taken a lot of heat for waging this protest.  I am the proud mother of these two courageous young women.  It takes a lot of intestinal fortitude to stand up for what you believe in.  They have been called liars and worse.  Juli has been grilled on why she didn’t do something sooner to make changes.  What has she been doing for the past eight years?  Eight years ago, she was a busy six year old.  Caitlin was eleven.  All we knew of Days End was that it was a happy place where kids could volunteer and spend time with horses.  It was a wonderful learning experience for children. 

     In all our time volunteering for DEFHR, we have seen horses grow old and die there….Whisper, Glamour, Fibi, Legacy, Smokey, Dee Dee, Sobe, Desperado “Despy”, etc.  Horses were not euthanized to make room for more horses. The DEFHR yahoo group and others are saying the policy has not changed.  The website now includes DEFHR’s euthanasia policy.  I stood face to face with DEFHR staff who told me the euthanasia policywas changed by the board of directors and was a year in the making.  I was told that DEFHRs’ primary mission is to take in horses for Animal Control.  I was told that three horses – Maggie, Java, and Ya Ya were euthanized on August 20th and three more would be euthanized on August 27th.  In addition, here is what I was told about Mountain and Gatsby……”Mountain and Gatsby are being returned, because the sanctuary they went to is having financial issues.  They can no longer keep them.  Mountain and Gatsby will go directly to the vet to be euthanized.  Had Mountain and Gatsby never left Days End, they would not be euthanized.  Because, they did leave – it would be toostressful for them to come back.”

      Days End has every right to change policy – even if that means euthanizing already rehabilitated horses to make room for more horses.  But….at least extend us the courtesy of being honest. “RESCUES” do not euthanize animals for space.  “SHELTERS”  euthanize animals for space.  You need to call yourself Days End Farm Horse Shelter, or Days End Farm Horse Animal Control Impoundment Facility.  People have a right to know what they are supporting.  Whether a corporate sponsor, or a one time donor – we should know how our money is being spent.  Personally, I donate money to help save horses – medical care, feed, etc.  I do not want my money to go toward euthanasia unless a horse is truly suffering.  Five horses have been euthanized – possibly seven.  Of those, I see only Enya as being due to suffering.  At three hundred dollars per euthanasia fee – do the math.  Is this how you wanted your donation used?

     If this policy was a year in the making, why were we, the volunteers, left in the dark?  If this is the crisis that we are led to believe, then why were we not included to be part of the solution?  The DEFHR staff and board of directors did not exhaust every option, because they did not seek input from us.  I can name three homes that would have taken Maggie.  I am one of them.  Surely, someone would have taken in two such handsome lawn ornaments as Mountain and Gatsby.  We cannot help, if we do not know.  Yes, these may be difficult economic times, but Days End is not located in one of the poorer areas of the United States.  DEFHR is located in Howard County, Maryland – the richest county in the richest state in one of the richest countries in the world.  Surely we can do better than this!!!!!  If an impound farm is needed for Animal Control, would it not behoove us to put pressure on our state and local governments to provide such a facility?  How difficult would it have been for an organization of Days Ends’ stature to bring about public awareness of this necessity? 

     I am attaching a facebook conversation between Caitlin, Juli, and staff members – Erin and Brittney.  They have been honest with us, regarding the change in DEFHR’s euthanasia policy.  They have also clearly stated DEFHRs’ mission.  Form your own opinions.  Some of you may agree with Days Ends’ reasoning.  Days End has done much to be proud of in the past 19 years.  No one is disputing that.  The only thing we are trying to change is the euthanasia policy.  We do not feel that horses “who have already had a chance” should be euthanized to give other horses a chance.  That sounds like a vicious cycle.  If you want this policy changed – please act.  You can’t hide behind Caitlin and Juli.  Someone needs to speak for the horses and we won’t be there anymore.

Regards,

Janice Phillips

Please read the following facebook conversation:

Juli: Is it true Maggie, Java and YaYa were euthanized Wednesday?

If it is indeed true...WHY?!!?

Is Layla still breathing? She is the most unadoptable horse I know. Maggie had a future with a great family- she can be ridden by little girls... Layla can't even be ridden by adults.

I'm really upset a rescue would euthanize their own horses. :( I hope this isn't true. I'm glad I took Eve when I did, or she would've been euthanized too :'(

:'( :'( :'( Please tell me this is just a lie that was sent to me. :'( :'( :'(

I hope there was a VERY good reason those once abused/neglected horses were killed.

I don't think I can volunteer with a rescue that does such things. :'(

Please respond ASAP with the truth :(

Ugh, I just REALLY want to emphasize my disappointment in the rescue!

And I hope the other horses have a chance to get adopted, before they too are killed off.

I'm REALLLLLLY upset >:( Just wanted to make sure you were aware of that!!

>:(

CAITLIN:

I would definitely like to know your reasons behind euthanizing these horses before I make my decision on whether or not I want to continue being a volunteer at the rescue. I don't want to base my opinions on rumors, but as of now I can think of absolutely no reason why it was necessary to kill those 3 horses.

DEETTE:

I appreciate that, Caitlin. Do you think it's possible that we can talk by phone? The internet and email leave out a lot of important dynamics of conversation.

ERIN:

Juli and Caitlin– I received your email and understand your concerns, and truly I’m hurting right with you. We have been talking to people as they have been coming up to the farm and I wish I could be having this conversation with you face to face. Brittney sent an good email and I just wanted to emphasize a couple of points.

Our mission, as you know, is to take in cruelty cases and help animal control bring justice in the legal manner. We rehabilitate these horses and provide them opportunity to find a great new home. If we don’t take in these horses animal control has their hands tied and may be unable to keep doing criminal equine cruelty cases – this was very much the case prior to Days End Farm’s existence. What will happen to all the horses out there starving and living in deplorable conditions. Should people be able to get away with this abuse.

We have already started limiting the types of cases we will take in. Usually the worst of the worst. I have personally called other rescues in Maryland – they are all over capacity and not taking anything in. I have contacted sanctuaries, no room, some with a 6 year waiting list.

Days End has not changed who we are and what we do. We simply are unable to be a sanctuary as much as I wish we could. We are not in a financial hardship that is causing us to enact this process– what we are experiencing is the financial hardships effects on the public and their ability to care for the horses they own. Calls of foreclosed homes leaving their horses, people setting horses free to fend for themselves.

Days End’s Board of Director have been taking a hard look at this issue for a year now and have collectively made adecision based on the “horse” as a whole. Each case is being looked at case by case and this is not something that is being taken lightly. Our entire staff is struggling and if nothing else I hope you can support them in kindness and empathy.

You have been dedicated volunteers. I can only hope that as horse lovers and supporters of this rescue you can come to understand that the place you have loved for so long would not do something that they didn’t feel was in the best interest of all horses.

We would be happy to go over each horse individually and explain why these have been chosen.

I truly hope that now or in the future you can come here and talk with us face to face.

Thank You – Erin

BRITTNEY:

Caitlin and Juli,

There are several key reasons for initiating this plan of action. I want to stress that this was not a decision that was taken lightly or made overnight. It's been over a year that this situation has been discussed and, after much debate among the Board of Directors and staff, it was decided that the euthanasia of a select group of horses was the best solution to an ever-growing and, honestly, extremely critical and frightening situation. It's a heart-breaking situation among all of the staff, but one that needed to be made.

I'm sure you know the state of the economy, in particular the increased costs of fuel. Do you know, however, the damage that it has caused the horse industry? Due to increased fuel costs, grain and hay prices have skyrocketed. Grain prices had already increased to due to the loss of crops caused by the floods in the Midwest. Due to the droughts, there was already a hay shortage in America. Much of the hay found in America was actually shipped in from Canada. With the increased fuel costs, you can only imagine what it has done to the price of that hay. Needless to say, the horse industry has been hit hard by the state of the economy.

To top it all off, horse slaughter has been banned from the United States, which means many owners who can no longer care for their horses have no other option but to abandon and neglect them. Out of those horses abandoned or neglected, the lucky ones are rescued and rehabilitated. The unlucky ones are left to die.

All of these factors have created what is now generally known as the "Unwanted Horse" crisis. Owners are having an increasingly harder time with affording to care for their horses, creating panic. I can't begin to tell you how many calls we get on a weekly basis from people begging us to take their horse because they can no longer care for them. We've had people pull into our driveway with their horse in tow, ready to take them off the trailer and give them to us. In Kentucky, horses are being found tied on the side of the road by their owners. Mountain and Gatsby are being returned due to low donations and funding. They can't afford to keep them any longer. All over the US, horses are being set free and left to fend for themselves. We got an email a couple of months ago from a reputable rescue in Western Maryland that has been around for years. The email was sent to us, begging us to help them with their horses because they couldn't afford to pay for them anymore and they couldn't find them homes. They said they had paid for their last shipment of feed and, after it ran out, they wouldn't be able to pay for any more. They said they would humanely euthanize their horses, but they couldn't afford to do so, as euthanizing costs around $300 per horse.They said that, once they ran out of feed, they had no other choice but to let the horses go in the woods behind their property and let them fend for themselves. There's another horse rescue not far from DEFHR that has 100 horses and they are now finding themselves with limited funds and little to no means of repairing their situation. These are respectable and reputable horse rescues! That shows you how desperate this situation is getting.

Registered, w/t/c-broke horses are up for sale for $300 at local auctions and STILL aren't selling. No one can afford, or wants, to buy horses due to the price of caring for them. We are having an increasingly harder time adopting out our horses, and many are being returned due to financial issues, and that's a HUGE problem for Days End Farm.

As you know, DEFHR's mission is to rescue and rehabilitate abused and neglected horses and find them new, loving homes. But that's not happening. Our horses that have been fully rehabilitated are just in limbo, with no indication of finding new homes anytime soon. And if we can't adopt out our horses, we don't have room to continue bringing in new ones. We then are no longer Days End Farm Horse RESCUE...we become Days End Farm Horse SANCTUARY. Being a sanctuary is not our mission. Our mission is to RESCUE those horses that have been neglected or abandoned, rehabilitate them, and adopt them out to new and loving homes.

But we've gotten to a point where, if a call came in asking us to take 5 extremely emaciated horses and rehabilitate them, we wouldn't be able to do it. We are OVER capacity. We can comfortably support 40-50 horses, due to financial, labor, and space limitations. We currently have around 60 horses.

We are not on the verge of going bankrupt...we are not on the verge of shutting down...but we are EXTREMELY tight on money. The choice to euthanize some of the horses at DEFHR that have already been given a fair chance at a new life is a PROACTIVE action taken by DEFHR. We're taking initiative and doing something to ease our situation BEFORE it gets to the breaking point. Before we have to succumb to simply giving our horses away to anyone that will take them no matter how good the home, or threatening to let them fend for themselves in the field, or tying them to the side of the road hoping someone will take them. We are financially secure enough to be able to give a select few of our horses, who have already been given a second shot at life, a peaceful end. We are resting assured in knowing that we have done our part...we've rehabilitated them, done our best to find them a home, and now we have a control over how their life ends. Humane euthanasia is very peaceful. The horse simply falls asleep and doesn't wake up. We are content in the knowledge that we can give them that end and let them go with dignity, respect, and love.

By euthanizing the horses that have already been given a chance at a new life, we are allowing DEFHR to be able to continue bringing in horses that haven't yet gotten that chance. There are currently four on-going neglect cases happening in three different counties in Maryland. Anyday now we could get a call saying that those horses are being impounded and Animal Control needs to bring them our way. It would, honestly, break my heart if we end up having to turn them away because we are overcapacity and unable to support their care. DEFHR will ultimately have failed in their mission if they have to turn away even a single horse in need of the care only Days End can give them.

All of the horses being euthanized have been given a fair chance at a new life. Aren't all horses worthy of that chance? Shouldn't they all get a chance to come to DEFHR and get a second chance? Yes. And if we hadn't started taking action and being responsible horse professionals, we wouldn't be able to give those horses a chance. The number of horses needing to come in is only going to increase as time goes on. It truly is a scary situation. DEFHR is trying its hardest to make sure we can continue to operate and be around in the years to come...to be there for the horses in need. DEFHR is the only rescue of its kind, not only in MD, but just about in the entire US. No other rescue does quite what DEFHR does. It would be a huge disappointment and loss to the horse industry if DEFHR were to start turning horses away. We're trying to take action and make sure that that never has to happen.

From a personal standpoint, I was heartbroken when I first heard the news of what was going to take place. Not only because I got to come into work and see them everyday, got to know each of those horses on an individual basis, and, as much as I tried not to, I got attached to them. But I was also heartbroken that the state of the horse industry had gotten so bad that it had forced DEFHR to resort to its most extreme plan of action in order to stay afloat.

I was angry...angry that all of our work was put into those horses for nothing. Angry at the original owner for putting their horse in that position to begin with.

I was upset...I shed many, MANY tears. Euthanasia is never an easy thing to deal with. If I had an easy time dealing with the loss of even one of the horses at DEFHR, then I'd know it was my time to call it quits. If you care for animals, losing them should never be an easy thing.

So believe me when I say that I understand what you are feeling and it's okay to have those emotions. I went through them...I was even at one point angry at DEFHR for making the decision they did. But it wasn't until I took a step back and realized that there truly is no other choice, and it's not DEFHR's fault, that my anger turned toward those that truly deserved it.

As a horse professional, and a horse owner, I am proud to stand by and represent Days End Farm. What we are doing is not only responsible, but it is a good example for all horse owners and organizations out there. More need to realize that, when you have no other options left, sometimes the most selfless and caring thing you can do for a horse is humanely euthanize them rather than allow them to suffer through the hardships that the horses coming into DEFHR have had to face.

I want to say that it will be a great loss to DEFHR if you decide not to return. You have put many years and hours of hard work into the horses at DEFHR and we will truly miss having you around if you decide not to continue with us. However, we will not pressure you either way. We understand if you don't want to, or can't, support us.

If you decide to return, please sit down with Erin, DeEtte, or myself. We want to talk to you and support you to make sure you fully understand and comprehend what is going on.

If you decide not to return, all I ask is that you respect DEFHR, just as we are respecting you. I'll let you interpret that sentence any way you wish.

**

If you would like, I can go into why we euthanized the horses that we did (Java, YaYa, and Maggie). However, it won't be tonight, as it is late and I need sleep. In the meantime...

*Please go online and research the horse industry, horse slaughter, prices of hay and grain, and the unwanted horse issue. It will pretty much explain what I've already talked about, but it might make this whole situation a little easier to understand and it will hopefully help you realize why this situation is such a devastating crisis and detriment to the future of the entire horse industry.*

Take care. I'll talk to you shortly.

~Brittney

JULI:

I understand why you are euthanizing the horses, but it's not fair.

I went to see Marbles today, and he didn't look like he was in any pain, not like the pain Enya goes through each day. She's so lame, it's insane. Is Marble's "pain" just an excuse to put him down? I wonder how he feels about that.

And Maggie, was she put down just because her adopters weren't experienced enough to handle her? She was put down because she went to the WRONG home? That's not right. >:( If Days End can not handle training a wild pony, maybe they shouldn't take in wild ponies.

I understand why Java was put down, but I don't understand why YaYa was. Sure she was pushy, but she was young. She had room for improvement. I find it funny that Whisper was kept alive for a LONGG time, but YaYa is being euthanized at a YOUNG age for no reason?

What about Apollo and Cayenne? They are taking up space aren't they? What exactly are they contributing to the farm? If they were gone would Marbles still have a chance?

So horses that are rendered "unadoptable" are killed? Well every horse is unpredictable. Poker, Country, Qutie, Layla and EVE are all unpredictable!!! There's also no such thing as unadoptable. Every horse has someone out there that cares about them.

Eve "supposedly" would not have been euthanized if she was in DEFHR's care, but I think she would have been. She'sflighty, lame, and she's been returned 3 times- 3 perfect reasons to kill her.

Days End is NOT a good place anymore. It's no longer the fun enjoyable place it used to be for the volunteeers. It's now a depressing farm where horses are being killed for no reason. It's a place where volunteers can look at a horse with tears and say, "You're next."

Putting Maggie to sleep was a BIG mistake and I hope DEFHR regrets it.

There's NO excuse for euthanizing those innocent horses. It's NOT right. DEFHR is no longer a horse rescue, it is now a high-kill shelter.

I don't know how killing your rescue horses is going to solve your problems.

No one knows how I feel about this situation. It's not fair to the horses, and they deserve MUCH better. Are horses the main priority at DEFHR?

3 lives have been taken at Days End Farm and 3 more lives may end....and I won't be there to witness anymore! >:(

BRITTNEY:

Juli,

Your dedication and energy that you put into the horses at Days End will be sorely missed. I can only hope that with time and growth you will come to understand why we had to do what we did. If and when you're ready to listen to the individual reasons for why we chose each horse, I'd be more than happy to tell you.

Your presence at DEFHR will be missed, but we will look forward to our relationship with you and Eve throughout the years to come. Have fun with her.

Take care and good luck with your future,
Brittney and the rest of the DEFHR Staff

JULI:

I will never understand. :(

BRITTNEY:

Like I said, just say the word and I'll go into the reasons for each horse. It might not make it easier to understand, but at least you will know the actual reasons why.

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I APOLOGIZE FOR THE WHITE HIGHLIGHTS!! I CAN'T FIX IT AT THIS TIME. SORRY.

~JULI