Red Dragonfly Animal Rescue

A Tiny Homestead

Today I'm talking with Terry at Red Dragonfly Animal Rescue. You can follow on Facebook as well.

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00:00
This is Mary Lewis at A Tiny Homestead, the podcast comprised entirely of conversations with homesteaders, cottage food producers, and crafters. If you're enjoying this podcast, please like, subscribe, share it with a friend, or leave a comment. Thank you. Today I'm talking with Terry at Red Dragon Fly Animal Rescue. How are you, Terry? I am doing great, Mary. Good. Tell me about yourself and what you do. So we have a large animal rescue in the Panhandle of Florida.

00:28
Um, we rescue horses, donkeys, cows. Um, every, every single rescue has a different story of how they wound up on our, on our farm. Um, we also have Muscovy ducks and roosters that have been dropped off because people have found them in their front yard and don't know what to do with them. Um, we're trying to provide a service for animals that have been neglected, abandoned. Um, the equine that have been put into the slaughter pipeline.

00:58
which is just devastating. So I know people ask me, you know you can't save them all and I know I can't, but I feel like if I can just make a difference in a few lives and save what I can that I think I found my purpose. Okay, so what brought you to this? So in 2021, we purchased a small five acre lot in Southwest Florida. And we have...

01:27
We had a business up in New England and we thought, okay, so this is where we kind of want our last chapter to be. I'm originally from Florida. My husband's originally from Connecticut, but he was on board to relocate. And at the end of 2021, we didn't know what we wanted to do with this piece of land. We know we thought a farm, we thought animals, we thought, you know, we had somewhat of a vision, but it wasn't clear to be, you know, fully transparent.

01:56
So my husband called me, I think it was like November, December of 2021 and said, listen, I met this rancher and he's got these baby cows that he's gonna take to slaughter. And I was like, why? And he said, well, he has too many cows and too many males and he's, one's a male, one's a female. Female, he doesn't even know who the mom is. So I said, no, let's bring them to the farm. So I learned how to do barbed wire for the first time in my life.

02:25
Um, we fenced in two and a half acres and we had six week old calves. Mary, they cried for their moms on that. Oh yeah. Oh, it broke my heart and we weren't living there, but I was there. I was there every hour. Um, and then six months, not even six months, I'm going to say maybe a couple months later, we got a call that a petting zoo was closing and they had this donkey and, um, that's the story that we were given.

02:55
I'm still not 100% sure. I think he was a displaced donkey that nobody wanted. So we transported him to the farm and we thought, oh, donkeys are pasture mates. They're gonna protect the cows. Not this donkey. This donkey wanted to attack the cows. So we had to separate them. They each got their own pasture, their own pole barn, their feed stations, their hay. And I thought, okay, I could do this. And I started doing research. I signed up for

03:25
FEMA classes that have, and this is all free, and a lot of folks don't know this, they're available online. They bring teachers to, it's usually like community centers. I was the only lay person in the room. We did a two or three day course. I flew up to Long Island, and it was all first responders on how to deal with animals in a disaster, whether it's a natural disaster or unnatural disaster. So you know, the fires in...

03:54
wildfires in California and I didn't know Hurricane Ian was coming to southwest Florida, but what do you do with animals in these situations? What do you, you know, who, who's there to help you? Who has transportation? Where can we relocate them to? So I started to reach out to folks in southwest Florida. I think they kind of had their own established network, and then Hurricane Ian came. We were super lucky, Mary, super lucky that the animals survived.

04:21
And the house that we also had near them survived, but not much else survived. I'm sure you saw pictures of, of post-hurricane and the devastation and the, the loss of lives. And it was just, we thought better of maybe not staying there. Um, my husband rides dirt bikes as his mental therapy, and he found some trails up in the Panhandle of Florida. So we came up here on a weekend and he was like, this is gorgeous. Um, and better yet.

04:51
affordable. So I said, I will relocate. Here's my thing. I need to live where the animals are. And I want to do this full time as much as we can full time. So I got our 501 C3, which was no easy feat. We transported the animals. We bought a 25 acre. We went from a 2400 square foot house to a 900 square foot barnaminium.

05:21
and we promised each other that 80% of our time will be spent outside with the animals. And it is. Since 20, we bought this property last year. Since then, we've rescued two female donkeys that were in the auction cycle. They were both pregnant. We did not know when we brought them here. They came up last year.

05:47
Coffee delivered April 21st, a healthy baby. We think she may be a henny, the vet's coming out next month maybe to do some blood work. What is that? What's a henny? It's a cross between a female donkey and a male horse. So when they're thrown into these auctions, and a lot of folks don't know what happens in these auctions, but these equine are put into these horrible situations. They're put in these lots that are very, very small, confined.

06:17
They're not fed good feed, they're given poor hay, and then they're paraded in front of people because it's all to make money. At the end of the day, Mary, it's all to make money. And these horses are in horrible, horrible conditions. These donkeys are in horrible condition. You know, they're not, they're not taken care of because it's, nobody's going to keep them on an auction cycle or in one of these fold-over laws for any extended period of time. So it was a kill pen up in North Carolina.

06:46
that I reached out to and I brought them home on August 8th. They delivered April 21st and April 30th. We don't know if she was exposed to a horse or a donkey. She just, the baby seems really big to me compared to the other baby donkey. So I was like, I want blood work. Not that it matters. They are sterile. She won't be able to reproduce and that's the, you know, the only thing. Mules or hinnies.

07:14
sized by the same size as a horse. They're much stronger. They're much durable. They're super smart. So I'm excited. We'll see what we have. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's funny when mules happen because sometimes they're absolutely gorgeous and sometimes the funniest looking thing you've ever seen. My husband says, so this is going to date us. I think it was a kazoo.

07:43
the cartoon when we were younger that had that helmet on. He's like, she looks like she's wearing a helmet. So, we'll see. And then January, the most recent rescues, besides the ducks and the roosters, were five horses from a kill pen in Tennessee that were in horrible, horrible condition. We signed up for two blind horses. The blind horses will never be sold at auction. You know that they're-

08:13
They're going to be loaded on that cattle trailer and they're going to be hauled, you know, across the border, um, to slaughter. And it's a very inhumane, very brutal way that they transport them. I do want to mention, I'd love for the audience to look it up. It's called the SAFE Act. It's HR 3475. And, um, it's to, uh, it's to stop the transportation of equine.

08:43
for slaughter. So we used to have slaughters statewide or stateside. I'm sorry. It was legal to slaughter horses and donkeys here. And then I want to say 2017, they abolished that. But they didn't abolish the fact that we can still throw them on trailers, drive them pregnant babies, it doesn't matter, shove them into these cattle trailers and and

09:08
put them on the road for 20 hours, 24 hours, whatever it takes to get them across the border to Canada or Mexico. I think that if we can ever pass that bill, that would be amazing. So the horses came very sick. They had something called strangles, which is a very highly contagious upper respiratory infection. Our farm was put under quarantine by the state. We had the state inspector come every week.

09:35
We had to keep them away from the rest of the rescues. And I had to suit up to give them their medicine, to feed them, to three times a day. It was a very, very long two months. I would do it over again in a heartbeat because there's two blind horses that we promised to rescue turned into five when the driver showed up with 13. And some of the other rescues didn't show up to take what they.

10:04
committed to taking my husband. And this is one of the reasons I love him so much. I kept saying, he kept saying, we don't have room. We don't have room. And I said, there, he's not gonna take him back to Tennessee. He's not. So he just untied them and I'm sorry, I get emotional. That's okay. They are the best horses ever. We have.

10:32
One, unfortunately, after two months passed away, and that was harder than I expected. And then two have, one's a thoroughbred. Actually, the vet's assistant, we had them at halters, and she noticed right away, she said, I think she's a thoroughbred. They tattooed them on their upper lip so you don't have any markings on them. And sure enough, Maggie has her tattoo, but she has an injured eye. So who's going to buy her at auction?

11:02
Um, Winston also has an injured eye and a huge, beautiful gelding protects the mares and then the other two blind girls. We think it was ovidus, which is a common, unfortunately, bacteria that horses get. And eventually to lose their vision. I had the farrier out here the other day and they all stood for him like perfect. So, you know, they were somebody's horse. I just don't think folks know what happens.

11:30
when they take their horses to auction. I, you know, they just really, Mary, they have no idea what these horses are gonna go through. Yeah, yep. I don't wanna cut you off, but I have a couple questions out of all of that. Number one, you said that it was, well, I don't know what you said, but it sounds like it was rough getting the 501C3 thing.

12:00
Is that because you have to, how does it work? Is it that you have to justify why you want to become that? So you have to have a purpose or a reason or a vision or a mission, whatever you want to call it. I was super worried because everything I read, and I've tried to self-educate as much as I can. In a previous life, I was a pharmaceutical rep and I'm used to studying and learning and I think it's what keeps my head going.

12:29
My focus now is animals, so, and how am I going to help them? So I like dove in, how am I going to get this 501c3? Because that's how we're going to get donations when folks could write them off, when, you know, the grants, what can I apply for? And everything I read, Mary, scared me because it said if you don't get it right the first time, the IRS could tell you we're not going to honor the 501c3 for a year or for however long.

12:56
So I reached out to a law firm in Fort Myers that specialized in it. Not inexpensive at all. So it took- Not inexpensive, is that what you said? Not inexpensive, very, very inexpensive. So I made payments. I got on a payment plan and I said, this is what I can afford. Each month, can we progress? And it took us a year. And in July of 2023,

13:26
I got the official 501C3 and then I registered for my number in the state of Florida. So if you look us up under any charity, Red Dragonfly Animal Rescue is completely legit. We have our vendor credentials, so I can go to Tractor Supply, I can go to the feed store, Ace and I don't have to pay taxes. So there's a lot of benefits to it that folks may not know.

13:52
And I just finished, I did a very detailed business plan of where I see us, you know, for the rest of this year. And then where I see us in 24 months and 36 months and 48 months. Um, and now that I have that complete, my next step is to get a grant writer. Um, which I'm now just starting to investigate, but I feel like that will be. We have 25 acres, not all of it is cleared.

14:21
We've started to clear on our own and it's time and it's expensive. Fences are expensive, no climb is expensive, and then you're trying to do all this while still maintaining the rescues, you know, still giving them veterinarian care, obviously good feed, everything that they need. And I think grants will definitely help us.

14:48
that you have to have to do this. And I was like, oh my God, that's got to get really expensive, really fast. It does. And I, um, I always say my animals will eat before I do. Um, I still work remotely because there it's, it's just such an expense to keep it going that it, I don't. I don't foresee that changing until we can get into this grant world. And, and, um, and I know there's a lot of grants out there because I've researched it. Um,

15:16
And I know like tractors, even, you know, private companies have grants. I just need to expand that more, focus more on that and get my applications out, my business plan out and grow that part of it. Yes, the great thing about grants is there are lots of them. The bad part about grants is there's lots of people who would like to get their hands on the lots of grants. Right.

15:42
Exactly. Everything I read says be detailed, be detailed. So I'm trying to be as detailed as I can. And I can talk about this Mary all day long. Like I, this is when, you know, I told you I was a pharmaceutical rep when I was young, I was a flight attendant, I worked with my husband's business. You know when you find your purpose, you really, it's in your heart. It's not, I tell people it's the hardest job I've ever done physically and emotionally.

16:12
And I've raised kids, I've done all that. But the fulfillment you get out of all that hard work, I've never, there's nothing you can compare it to. Yeah, you found your passion. This is what you want to be doing and what you think that you were meant to be doing. This is your calling. Absolutely, absolutely. And on that note, I think that what you're doing is amazing.

16:40
and I think that there's a reason for it. But I'm sure that you get pushback from people about why are you doing this?

16:49
Okay, so what I was saying is I think that what you're doing is amazing and I think it's important, but I'm sure that you probably get pushback from people about why are you doing this? Oh yes. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Why am I doing this? Besides my own purpose and my own goals? I think these animals need it. I think people need to be educated. I think people just don't know.

17:19
they don't realize, for example, where these donkeys could wind up. Oscar's Place is a great sanctuary in California that I've reached out to and I've communicated, and I've tried to learn from other sanctuaries and learning from other rescues. We've done some University of Florida veterinarians classes online on how to handle large animals and really get to learn more about them. I feel like if more people were aware,

17:48
of what these animals go through, I think people would say, no, we're not going to do this. Let's stop this. Let's not transport them. Let's, you know, let's find them. There's one retirement home for horses in the state of Florida in Gainesville. They have 300 acres and they're full and they try to, you know, limit who they take only working horses. People buy a horse for their kids and they think we're going to have a trail horse and then they lose their sight.

18:17
And that's it, we're done. I don't want them on my feed, Bill. It's still a living, breathing creature. I've had quite a few people visit the rescue. I try and do one-on-one. Like we had a little boy yesterday who's homeschooled, who came out. We did a special project. So I'm trying to do natural mosquito control in Florida. So we went and gathered gambusia fish from a retaining pond to put in the horse troughs that eat the mosquito larvae.

18:46
But it was my opportunity at age nine, he's not gonna really understand what these horses go through and how he could make a difference. But his mom did and she was shocked. She was like, I had no idea. And these are folks that are professionals, are educated, consider themselves knowledgeable. It's just, for lack of a better word, a seedy or shady side of the horse business and the donkey business.

19:15
the cattle industry that folks don't know. I'm never gonna tell anybody what to eat, what not to eat, that is not my place. There's humane ways to do it. There's ways that you're not, you know, putting 800 chickens in a 12 by 12 room, you know, feeding them antibiotics to get them to grow so you can sell more chickens. You could do it in a humane way. You could.

19:43
you could have cattle in a humane way. You could have dairy farms in a humane way without dragging those babies away from mamas right away. I think it's all education and opening our eyes and maybe going back to simpler times when it wasn't more money, more things, more... I think that's my why, is to educate people. Okay. All right, that seems reasonable to me.

20:13
Um, I have, I have another question. What's the, what's the insect that I'm hearing in the background? Um, so you hear crickets at night when the sun sets, you hear frogs, but you may hear roosters. Yeah. Okay. So we, yeah. So we, um, we just rescued cowboy, um, who's a beautiful, beautiful rooster who wound up in a very, um, in a historical district in a town nearby us. And.

20:42
the lady found this on the internet, I guess, or somebody gave her her phone number and she called me and she's like, I have him in my bathroom and I don't think I can keep him in my bathroom. I'm like, yeah, I don't think that's a good idea. So she came out a couple of days later and she was so funny because she had gotten attached to the rooster and she was like, what if he doesn't get along? What if he runs away? I said, well, we have 25 acres and we're gonna feed him.

21:11
I don't think he'll run away. And we have probably about, I don't know, how many Muscovy ducks and we have other roosters. He has taken the charge and I think he's part duck. He keeps all the ducks together every night and then the ducks will go down to the pond and he gets very upset and then he kind of hangs his head and goes inside the barn like he's done his job and can't help them anymore. So I think you hear cowboys, what I think you hear.

21:37
Yeah, I just, it sounds like cicadas and I didn't know if you guys had the cicadas down there this year. And I know you guys had one of the years, right? We don't. Oh. No, we don't have it here in Minnesota, but we will at some point, but not this year. No, I think you hear the crickets, the frogs, and probably cowboy. Okay, I think it's crickets. We don't have any crickets here yet. They don't really start singing until end of June, usually. We have some big ones.

22:07
I don't know the difference between crickets and grasshoppers, but we have a lot of them. Yeah, we'll have both soon. The mosquitoes just arrived yesterday, so that's lovely. So muskoby ducks are the best bug-eating ducks because I know you have a homestead, correct? We do. Okay. So your challenge is to keep them out of your produce or plants that they love to eat.

22:36
and I'm trying to gambush a fish. I don't know if you have any standing water, but they'll eat the larvae. Yeah, we have. It's funny because last summer we had no standing water, therefore we had no mosquitoes. And it has rained for a week straight here off and on. And it's been a very wet spring. And so I stepped outside this morning to grab the dog and got bit twice by mosquitoes. I was like, oh, great.

23:05
they're back. But we don't have any standing water on our property, but there's a wildlife preserve land piece down the road. And the Minnesota River is like three and a half miles from us. So I don't think that doing anything is really going to get rid of the mosquitoes that come to our place.

23:35
vicious. They're just vicious. I did a walk around last night. I do a walk around and check all the gates and the donkeys are very bright and have figured out how to open the gates so we put chains on them too. Horseflies all of a sudden, like ginormous horseflies. So I went inside and I'm like, why? We too have had a lot of water and behind the property we have Florida swamp. And that's where they lay their eggs is in that marshy, you know,

24:04
And I'm like, how do you even control that? Mm-hmm. You don't and bugs are bugs. There's always going to be bugs. Yep. And then there's great new dragonflies.

24:20
Yes, yes. The dragonflies will help here in a couple of weeks. They'll be back too. Good. And we have really beautiful ones. We have like these blue, like cross between blue and green dragonflies. And every time I see them, I'm just like, I just have to watch you for a while. They're so pretty. I completely understand. And that's one of the joys of having a homestead or a farm is that...

24:47
you get to stop and look at the things that are around you. It slows you down. I came from a very fast paced life and there's always gonna be work to be done on the farm. Like I've made my peace with that, but when I'm feeling stressed, I grab a brush and I just head out to one of the paddocks and I'm like, we're gonna brush you today, we're gonna spend some time and it just kinda slows you down.

25:16
Yeah, and it's a one task thing. You're focused on that for the time that you're doing it. It's great. I love, I don't have any animals other than the dog and the barn cats and chickens. So I don't have a horse or a donkey to go brush out, but I do have two male adults who I need to keep fed in the house. And so...

25:41
Cooking is my zen. It's where I have one task that I'm focused on for the time that I'm doing it. I get it. Yeah, I think everybody needs something they love to do where they're just doing that one thing for at least 20 minutes. That's what I think. Yeah, yeah.

26:01
So I don't know how old you are, which means that I don't know how long you want to continue to do this animal rescue thing. So this is our final chapter. In my late 50s, my husband's a year older than me. And I've talked to the kids, we have together four grown boys of, you know, who would think about taking this over? Because I want it to be a legacy if at all possible.

26:30
If there's some, and this is going to sound horrible and I don't want it to sound horrible. If for some reason this stops after I stop on this planet, I've told them all, if you can't rehome them, they cannot go to auction, they cannot be sold off, they cannot, I almost rather them be euthanized with me because it's just, I got them out of this situation. Let's not put them back in that situation.

27:00
Yes, and it's a hard thing to think about. It's a hard thing to talk about. No, it's something that crosses our minds. I'm not 25 anymore. Somebody reached out to us, and I said, at this time, I can't make a commitment. But let's see where we are in a couple of years. She's in her 60s. She's got a donkey sanctuary in Texas. And all her kids told her, we want no part of this. We don't want it. We don't like it.

27:29
So she wants to re-home, I think she's got 12 donkeys, she wants to re-home them before she passes on, or at least have a sanctuary or rescue that says, I can take the majority of them, or, you know, she wants that to be set before she moves on. So it's a big commitment. It's an obligation. You have these, you know, living, breathing creatures that completely depend on you. So, you know, if the right person comes along,

27:57
I think we were the right people to buy this property. The folks that sold this property were older. They had built it as an equine. They had a couple horses on it for their daughter. And they wanted the right folks to buy it. They still come visit us. They come visit us every month. And they're, you know, they asked me to name one of the baby donkeys after. So I could see that. I can see us passing on this.

28:26
Hopefully one of the kids, but if not somebody that wants to embrace it and continue this mission because it's not easy. No, no. I am not doing it and I know damn well it's not easy. Running any kind of rescue or sanctuary or refuge for animals is a huge undertaking and kudos to you for doing it because I could not do it. I...

28:53
I am not young enough, I am not patient enough, and I am not determined enough to do what you're doing. I am determined enough to talk to you about what you're doing though, so that's good news. Because you're helping me spread my passion and you're helping me spread the information and the education that folks need to learn about. Yeah, exactly. And that's what the podcast is all about. It's about letting people hear about what other people are doing, whether it's growing

29:23
I don't know, raising animals for food or whatever they're doing because you guys are brilliant people doing amazing things and there's so little chance for you to get the word out to the public and I want people to know. Thank you. I appreciate this from the bottom of my heart. We had a booth at the Florida State Fair in November for a few days.

29:48
just to raise awareness. And we're trying to figure out, we're trying to figure out different things. How are we gonna raise awareness? How are we going to promote the cause? How are we gonna get more support? And I met some really great people. My husband's like, we're doing what? And I'm like, let's make some t-shirts and let's share our story. And I actually met a couple of people that are volunteers at the rescue now that I could not let, you know, they come out every other Saturday and they help me bathe horses and...

30:18
They help me spray and they help me drag fields and you know, it's all about networking. I really think it's all about networking. But life is about networking. Yes, because one person cannot do anything alone. Except maybe use the bathroom. That's a good time to be alone. But other than that, if you're doing something, many hands make light work. Absolutely. And I feel like, I was going to say, I feel like the more love the animals feel, the better for them.

30:48
Yeah. So I was going to ask you at the beginning, but I got sidetracked. So I was listening to your story. How come it's a red dragonfly animal rescue? How did you name it? My sister and I were walking in the little farm that we had in southwest Florida, and there was red dragonflies everywhere. And I thought I've never seen a red dragonfly that I remember. And my sister was kind of like, this is strange. So, of course, we took out our phones and we're like this. Somebody is sending us a sign. And yeah.

31:16
The story behind the red dragonfly is when you see it, if you're going through a moment of despair or hard times, it's a sign that there's better times coming. Just hang in there, better times are coming. And it was like an epiphany. It was like, this is it. You know, cause I had talked about, my dad had recently passed away. Let's name it after him. Let's name it, you know, maybe after a location. And the minute I saw what that meant, to me, it was a given. And it's become our mission statement.

31:45
You know, we are going to take these animals from really bad situations and show them love and kindness and, you know, care and nutrition and give them what they deserve. Those horses that we rescued, I say this to everybody who comes on the farm, those horses we rescued in January have every reason to be aggressive, to be mean, to be, you know,

32:14
act up, they are the sweetest. One of them, I think, thinks is a dog because he always licks me when I go into the paddock. I think they appreciate and they know the difference between the situation they were in and what they've come into. And I feel like, you know, the red dragonfly just is that symbol that I want folks to know what we're offering these animals.

32:41
Yeah, I love that. I didn't even know red dragonflies existed. So again, learn something new. And I'm talking to people on the podcast. Mary, you're going to go outside and you're going to see all your blue green and there'll be a red one. I promise you because I was like, wow. And I believe in, I believe in science. I believe that the universe sends you signs to tell you the right place at the right time. And the last father's day was hard for me.

33:08
And I took a walk, we're up against the Apalachicola State Forest, and my son came to visit me, and we took a walk through there. And there was red dragonflies everywhere. I mean, he's the one that's with that mom. And I said, I know. We're where we need to be. I'm where I need to be. Yeah. And you're right. I think that your horses do understand because, and I've talked about this before, but I'm going to share it again, because it's what I do. I share the stories over and over again.

33:36
We adopted a cat from the Humane Society. And they told us that he was two years old and that he was feral, stray, and would never be friendly, ever. And basically take him home, leave him in his carrier, give him some food and water, and let him be in his carrier for a day, like 24 hours, and then let him out wherever he's going to live. And leave him alone, basically. We want him for a barn cat.

34:06
And this cat is in love with us now, because we feed him and we let him come to us and we pet him. He hates being held. He will growl the entire time. So I think you're right. I think that animals know that if they've been mistreated, if you can build trust with them, they will become friendly and kind. Trust. I think that's the key word, Mary. I think it's...

34:36
you showed that cat that he could trust you. Yeah. And we named him Satan because he was full of Spitfire when we got him. He was not a happy boy. So his name is Satan, but I call him Lucy in my head for Lucifer because Lucy seems nicer than Satan. I like that a lot. How long have you had him?

35:05
Three years now? Yeah. It doesn't happen overnight. No, and my son was the one who really bonded with him and it took him about three months for the cat to be nice to him. That's about right. So it was pretty quick. It was a pretty quick term. Yeah. And when I... Yeah, he's a lovely kitty. I'm sure he is. When what? When I say they're super nice and non-aggressive. It's not that I haven't been kicked.

35:35
and I haven't been pushed and I haven't been because they still get scared, they still get spooked, especially the blind horses. It's not all super, but that's how they communicate. When you try and hold him, hold Lucy, and he doesn't wanna be held, that's how he tells you. I'm gonna growl at you to show you I don't have hands to push you away. That's the way he shares with you that, okay, you can feed me, you can pet me, but this is where I'm gonna draw the line.

36:04
Yeah, I don't hold him. I don't want to get scratched and he's telling me that he doesn't want to be held and I respect that. My son however, he likes holding him and playing with him and the cat puts up with it. He hasn't actually scratched him yet. So we're good. Good. Good. But yeah, it's I don't know. I feel like I'm gonna sound like a Pollyanna for a minute. I feel like if people would just be kind and

36:34
follow the people's lead that they're trying to know and same thing with the animals, things would be a lot better. I am going to put a caveat on that in that there are people who will lead you down paths you don't want to go. But if people could just not be mean and try to understand the other person's experience before they put their experience on top of it.

37:02
maybe the world would be a better place. Absolutely. I could not agree with you more. Walk a mile in somebody's shoes before you pass judgment. It's so easy for us to be short with each other. You know, summer's here, it's hot, the kids are running around. You can have an excuse to be mean. You can have an excuse to be short every single day. Every single day. It's choosing not to be and working on it.

37:32
Yeah, I, my husband thinks that I am a terribly soft hearted person and he thinks that it's a good thing, but that's what he thinks. And it's because when I was a kid, I was teased a lot. I am, I was very tall, very quickly. I did not come into a womanly figure until I got pregnant with my first kid. I had pitch black hair, bright blue eyes and very pale skin. This did not go over well in school.

38:00
And I got teased a lot and I hated every minute of it. And my way of coping with it was to try to consider the other person's life and where they were coming from. Because I couldn't be mean and I wasn't big enough to fight back. So my coping mechanism was they must have a really terrible life at home or something must be wrong. And I think it molded who I became as an adult because when I see people acting in a not so great way,

38:29
I'm like, huh, they must be having a bad day. I wonder what's going on. I wonder who they're married to. Or I wonder what's at work. Yeah, or do they have a really bad headache and it's making them cranky or something? Because that's how I dealt with it as a kid. And my husband is like, you always are willing to give people to benefit of the doubt. And I'm like, until I don't. Yeah. Once I'm done, I'm done, but I'm gonna try. With me as well.

38:59
I used to pack extra lunches for my kids and tell them, I want you to sit with a kid that doesn't have a friend. I need you to sit with a kid who's sitting alone in the lunchroom. Mark my words, just sit with that kid. And my three boys have developed lifelong relationships because they chose to sit next to somebody that maybe nobody else would for whatever reason. They look different, they smell different. Kids are mean. They are, they are mean.

39:27
I do believe the adults that we are today, there were hints of it in the beginning and I think we are formed into who we are today by things that happened in our childhood. And I have friends that, you know, as adult friends, I never talked about this really out loud about the rescue and animals that kept going. Is this a phase? Are we going through a phase? I'll support you, Terry.

39:56
I kept saying, no, my mom and my sister, who obviously have known me my whole life, not surprised in the least. And they laugh and they're like, you were the kid that would make dad stop to pick up the turtle and get it across the road. You were the kid in fifth grade that said, I'll take the hamster home. My mom won't care. You were the kid that showed up in the backyard with, you know, six ducks because you found them on the side of the pond and you couldn't find their mom. And it's just who I've been my whole life.

40:27
So this to me is just a natural, I'm an adult, I can make my own decisions because I don't have my parents to ask, can I keep the dog? Can I keep the cat? Can I keep the duck? I have my own finances and I have an incredibly supportive husband. I don't think he would choose this lifestyle if he was giving his, but he's the first one to say, where do you need the next fence? What do you need me to clear? Where do you need me? And he's...

40:56
know, he'll halt your horse and he'll help me lead them and he'll do whatever without and I can't ask for more. I really can't. You are blessed because not every husband would do that. I know. I know. All right, Terri. Well, I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me today. I appreciate you, Terri. Thank you. I was like...

41:23
We're at like 42 minutes, so I'm gonna let you go. I'm sure you have work to do. Yeah, that's okay. It's always worth it. All right. Yes, there is. All right, Terri, thank you again. Have a great day. Thank you. Bye.