Well its newsletter time again. GERL members have been very busy the last few months. So here is an update on what is going on. On July 18th we had a very successful multi-county law enforcement training meeting in LaGrange, Ga. We had a full house with excellent presentations and hands-on training opportunities for animal control and police. The officers in attendance were definitely active learners. These officers are dedicated to help address the issues of the unwanted horse facing their counties. These educational opportunities for animal control and law enforcement officers are vital to helping abused and neglected equine. In fact, our law enforcement equine training meetings are so successful that we have been asked to host another one this fall. It is in the planning stages for November or early December. We try to hold two of these each year. So if you are interested in hosting one in your area of the state please contact me, Cynthia Anderson or Patty Livingston.
We were very successful with our Help a Horse Campaign. Most of the hoses taken into our program have found their loving forever home. This program will continue to be an important part of GERL’s effort. In August the GDA took 10 horses and donkeys into their program. The great news is that the county involved is prosecuting. Now the wonderful folks at the GDA are working hard to place them in forever homes. I hate to admit it, but one of the little donkeys is at my house.
On October 5th the GERL Rescue Challenge will take place at the UGA Livestock Arena in Athens Georgia. This is a must see event. In addition to our rescue horses; Medieval Times, UGA Eventing Team, and Elaina Schemersey and Cookie Monster will be entertaining the crowd. It is a fun day for the whole family. Make sure to mark your calendar. Who knows, you may want to make one of the rescues horse a member of your family. If you are interested in being a part of this very exciting event consider being a volunteer. There is volunteer link on our website. www.gerlltd.org. I am looking forward to seeing you there!
November is GERL’s Stallion to Gelding Castration Month. While everything we do at GERL is designed to help solve the problem of the unwanted horse, to me this is one of the most important. You can go to the website, www.gerlltd.org, for a list of participating veterinarians in the state. We can always use more veterinarians to participate in this program. So please ask them if you think you vet may be interested in participating and we will be glad to send them an information package.
Well, this just about wraps up what has been going on since the last newsletter. I hope to see everyone at the Rescue Challenge in October!
