Christine Whelan FEO, December 15th, 2022, VOL. 4 ISSUE 9
Saturday, December 3 was the Annual Christmas Open House at Last Chance Horse and Pony Rescue. There were pony rides and horse rides. Kids could get their pictures taken with Santa.
As done each year, they set up a bake table and a penny sale. They collected donations of non-perishable items for COPE, invited guests to bring unwrapped toys for the Salvation Army toy drive.
There was a Christmas hamper. A complete turkey dinner was raffled off for five dollars.
The people at the rescue and sanctuary get a real tree each year, decorate it, and donate the tree to a family after the open house, decorations and all.
The rescue is always giving back to the community.
Now Last Chance Horse and Pony Rescue is in desperate need.
Founder, Sharron Wallace is looking for a Christmas miracle. “I’ve been here 15 years. I’ve done all the improvements to the place.”
But in all these years and all the remarkable work she has spearheaded for people, animals, and the community with this special piece of property, it has never been hers.
“We don’t own it. I only leased it. I have a little bit of investment in it but not very much.”
Sharron says the property owner now wants to sell the land and that there is a bidding war, jacking the price up higher.
“He’s given us six months to raise the money to buy the property. We have until the end of April.”
Its full, registered name, Last Chance Horse and Pony Rescue and Sanctuary, is located at 4269Rebstock Road in Crystal Beach and is a non-profit, registered Canadian charity. It has been the home to many in need since 2018. All operations and costs rely solely on volunteers and donations.
Their mission statement is to rescue abused, unwanted and neglected horses and ponies to provide them with a loving forever home.
The Rescue
“What the place does is save the animals’ lives. They live their lives out here.” Wallace shared with compassion.
“We’ve got 36 animals here.” She broke it down. “There are eleven horses – Percherons, thoroughbreds, standardbreds, and quarter horses. A lot of them are older but they all do therapeutic work within the Niagara Region.”
She continued, “We have the little ones – five donkeys, one mule, two fainting goats, thirteen minis, eight ponies, and a pot-belly pig named Oliver.”
Adding, “They’ve all come in under hardship. They’ve had injuries.”
Cats are often dropped off at the sanctuary. “I spay, neuter, and take care of them.”
Sharron says there are people who will take over for her when she is gone.
Re-locating Is Not An Option
Sharron explained the rescue’s reality. “Unfortunately, we don’t have the money to relocate. So, it’s best that we stay here where the horses have known as a safe place.
“And we like our location here because we’re central to all the towns in the Niagara Region we work with, even Hamilton.
“We don’t want to leave. It would be a huge undertaking.” She sighed dishearteningly. “I don’t even know if we can.”
After a pause, her tone changed, uplifted slightly, “But, I don’t want to give up because I know what will happen to the horses, and to the community of people they affect.
“The rescue has turned into a people rescue as much as a horse rescue.”
The Effect On The Community
Sharron listed the different partnerships and relationships that they have been reaching out to create throughout the Niagara Region. “We visit all the nursing homes, all the retirement homes, all the hospitals. You should see how happy those people are at the hospitals when we go there.
“We partner with the March of Dimes here, in Fort Erie, with those with brain injuries. We’ve partnered with Anchors Away and Community Living in Port Colborne and Fort Erie.
“We do stuff in Niagara Falls. We do stuff in Welland. Tanguay Place comes here. We go to Villa de Rose Retirement Residence. In St. Catharines, we’ve worked with the Royal Henley Retirement Community.”
Groups visit the rescue, as well.
“We have family days where we have four or five little firepits and give marshmallows to the kids. My teen volunteers do little demonstrations with the minis. We do pony rides and penny sales as fundraisers.
“And we have war victims who come. All these groups are in danger of losing us, too. None of them want to see us go.”
Sharron told stories of the experiences she has witnessed, of kids sitting on horses’ backs, “bawling their eyes out, telling their life stories”.
After years, she has watched many of the children who were once struggling, grow up to be well-adjusted adults. She is convinced, their experiences with the animals there played a big part.
The Teens
Wallace spoke with pride about the many teenagers who come to Last Chance. They welcome any and all teens, experiencing any of life’s challenges.
“The teens all connect with certain horses or ponies. I’ve seen teens turn their lives around here.”
Each month, they feature a youth and horse connection. Sharron talked about a couple of these connections that changed lives.
She also shared stories of the positive effect volunteering at Last Chance Horse and Pony Rescue and Sanctuary has on seniors who spend time there. She said the experiences give them a wonderful sense of value, purpose, and belonging.
You can read about these stories on the rescue’s Facebook Page.
Sharron has a binder of letters written by people who go to the rescue and those who receive help from the therapeutic services, words of support, proving the need for the services and opportunities provided by the activities on this land and the hearts that reach out, throughout the community.
“I have a letter in there from the Greater Fort Erie Secondary School.”
Challenges
“We had the Urban Boundary Line to fight.”
Last Chance Horse and Pony Rescue and Sanctuary were included in the Niagara Region’s Proposed Urban Boundary Expansion, Fort Erie Site #3, for the purpose of future residential use. A petition to have this proposal changed to exclude the property was started on Change.org, collecting over 16,000 signatures.
“We won that one.”
But, according to Sharron, since the pandemic, it’s been difficult. “When COVID hit, we couldn’t have fundraisers.”
Helping Horses Save Humans: Reaching Out
Last Chance Horse and Pony Rescue and Sanctuary now need $1.4 million to remain on that land.
“We are looking for any type of donation at all so that the horses can carry on saving humans. It’s horses saving humans.”
They have been spreading flyers around and gathering letters, a binder full, just in case an opportunity comes along and they need to prove the need and support.
“I think just getting the word out there,” is what Sharron is aiming to do, with hopes that someone, a group of people, or a little from many will step forward to help.
Sharron pointed out that even though the rescue is a registered charity, not owning the property means she is not eligible for any grant money she has already looked into.
“We are hoping to get the attention of corporations and businesses. For businesses who are interested in donating, we would put their promotional sign in our barn and give them a day for their employees and their families to come and spend time here.”
Regarding any donations, “Because we are registered, I can give income tax receipts for any donation over $10.” Their charitable registration number is on their Facebook Page.
Small Blessing: Operational Costs Covered
Sharron explained, “We have our operational costs covered for a year because a gentleman, who used to come down all the way from Hamilton three times a week and sit with the horses, sadly had a stroke and eventually passed away. In between the stroke and his passing, we did everything we could to help him continue to spend time with the horses.”
When he did pass, “We never expected it. He left us money to cover operational costs for one year.”
He wanted his ashes spread around the property so his family took his ashes to the rescue.
“So, anything we get now is going straight to purchasing the land, not to operational costs.”
Sharron remarked that regular, weekly bookings with hospitals and nursing homes have already been secured for next year beginning in May.
Visit the Last Chance Horse and Pony Rescue Facebook Page for lots of photos and videos. For questions and direct contact, you can email lastchancehorseandponyrescue@hotmail.com. Find out more about Last Chance and send a donation by going to their website www.lchpr.org/
Photo provided by Sharron Wallace
