{"id":39772,"date":"2015-08-14T12:17:24","date_gmt":"2015-08-14T19:17:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/?p=39772"},"modified":"2016-02-05T17:37:23","modified_gmt":"2016-02-06T00:37:23","slug":"living-free-opens-doors-to-wild-mustangs-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/2015\/08\/14\/living-free-opens-doors-to-wild-mustangs-too\/","title":{"rendered":"Living Free opens doors to wild mustangs, too"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Randall
Randall Harris, president of Living Free Animal Sanctuary, greets the newest resident, a Sheldon mustang, Liberty Belle. Photo by J.P. Crumrine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Living Free, founded in 1980, is a sanctuary for abandoned cats and dogs. Currently it is home to nearly 100 cats and 45 to 50 dogs.<\/p>\n

Mustangs are another species, surprisingly, who are abandoned or whom humans find too numerous. The federal government rounds up wild mustangs annually and keeps them penned in corrals with dozens of other mustangs.<\/p>\n

So in July, Liberty Belle, a wild mustang, arrived at Living Free to join these other forsaken animals and potential pets. However, Liberty Belle and others of her herd lived on the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge, which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages. Unlike horses that live on federal lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, they are not protected by the Wild\u00a0Free-Roaming\u00a0Horse and Burro Act passed in 1971.<\/p>\n

Living Free plans to offer its site for the home to 12 to 20 mustangs and Liberty Belle is the first. Already she has made friends with the staff\u2019s horses and if all continues to go well, more mustangs will be offered a home with food, space and love. In the future, people may come to Living Free to visit with the wild horses.<\/p>\n

On its site, Living Free does much to accommodate abandoned animals and give them love and attention until somebody can take a dog or cat home.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s the Kitty Castle for newborn kittens. They enjoy special attention for months before moving to one of the three catteries. Each accommodates about 30 cats now and a fourth is under construction.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Living Free built a Puppy Palace, where pups and their mother may have some privacy until they are old enough to join the adult dog population. There they receive all the appropriate shots.<\/p>\n

The dogs also have the opportunity to visit the Give Life Park. It\u2019s also a space where visitors may take a dog and spend some quiet time learning whether they are meant for each other. Being off the leash helps with adoptions, said Edgar Santiago, kennel manager.<\/p>\n

The park includes a small pond and benches, covered in luscious green grass where the fence is snake protected. The dogs come and play with each other, sniff the rocks and listen to sounds outside their kennels.<\/p>\n

On this day, Duke and Ellen were romping around the park, rolling on their backs and retrieving the balls. \u201cEllen had been abandoned at a truck stop,\u201d said Randall Harris, Living Free president.<\/p>\n

This year, the number of adoptions has approached 60, which is setting records, according to Harris. \u201cWe\u2019ll take more than we can take and stay slightly over capacity because were getting so many adopted.\u201d Animals who can\u2019t secure new homes become permanent Living Free residents.<\/p>\n

Living Free has several videos for prospective dog owners on how to introduce oneself to a dog and how to be a good owner. In the next few weeks, Ellen will lose her friend Duke, who is headed to a home in Los Angeles, he added. \u201cWe\u2019ve even had a guy come from New Mexico to adopt,\u201d said Santiago. \u201cSocial media helps a lot.\u201d Living Free has more than 5,000 friends on Facebook.<\/p>\n

Under Harris, Living Free studied its various methods to reach out to the public. Consequently, there is a new plan for use of Facebook and now a new website that is more efficient for visitors.<\/p>\n

Living Free does more than feed animals until someone adopts them. Consistent with its goal to reduce the number of cats and dogs killed annually, Living Free tries to reduce unwanted and wild pregnancies. It sponsored a spay-and-neuter clinic in June, where 30 animals were neutered. Another clinic is planned for August. Both have been co-sponsored with Luke\u2019s Legacy and in cooperation with the Animal Rescue Friends of Idyllwild.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all trying to save animals in slightly different ways,\u201d Harris said. And Santiago added that often when Living Free\u2019s kennels are full, ARF not only helps find potential homes, but also temporary room, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cA ton of healthy animals are put down, but there\u2019s a ton who are great to have,\u201d Harris stressed. \u201cIt\u2019s worth saving them. Here we do our best to keep them.\u201d<\/p>\n

But to continue to help the dogs, cats and mustangs, Living Free needs funds. Eighty percent of the budget goes to animal services. \u201cI can\u2019t say enough about the staff. They\u2019re just great,\u201d he said with pride.<\/p>\n

This year, Harris and the board have developed a business plan to get more funding. Some early success is evidenced with the construction of the Puppy Palace and the proposed cattery expansion. But this is just the beginning that Harris and other envision. A quarantine area is on the long-range plan and facilities to accommodate the mustangs.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach project is funded as a separate campaign,\u201d Harris explained. \u201cCapital costs are critical,\u201d but he is very aware of the problems of funding a construction without operating costs committed, too. \u201cIf a new kennel were built, we want to have five years of operating costs.<\/p>\n

\"This
This key chain, which Living Free founder Emily Jo Beard designed in the 1980s, depicts her dream and intention to include horses as members of the sanctuary.
Photo by J.P. Crumrine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHorses were always part of Emily Jo Beard\u2019s original dream when she established Living Free,\u201d Harris said. And last summer, Joan Fagin, the former executive director, called to alert Harris of the plight of the Sheldon war horses, who are part thoroughbreds and part draft horses. In June, Harris and Ray Barmore traveled to Oregon to see the Sheldon mustangs.<\/p>\n

In the beginning, Living Free has 40 acres for the mustangs, but must build more equestrian facilities. \u201c[These mustangs] have been around chainlink fences and concrete mostly. It\u2019s important aesthetically and for their rehabilitation to get good space,\u201d Harris stressed.<\/p>\n

He plans to move slowly, but expects to have a home for a few more by the end of the year. Eventually, the mustangs may have access to most of the 160 acres at the site. He plans to expand the community-based model of dogs and cats to future horse population.<\/p>\n

Since 1980, the number of dogs and cats who were victims of euthanasia has fallen, but not been eliminated, Harris stated. \u201cIt\u2019s fewer and we\u2019re headed in the right direction. We just need to shift up the number of adoptions and we\u2019ll still need shelters but we can eliminate killing them.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll that is needed is to have 3 percent more adopted instead of bought,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s important to believe it can happen. But lots of care and time. There is more we can do for animals here and its better for the community.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Living Free, founded in 1980, is a sanctuary for abandoned cats and dogs. Currently it is home to nearly 100 cats and 45 to 50 dogs. Mustangs are another species, surprisingly, who are abandoned or whom humans find too numerous. The federal government rounds up wild mustangs annually and keeps them penned in corrals with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"amp_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nLiving Free opens doors to wild mustangs, too • Idyllwild Town Crier<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/2015\/08\/14\/living-free-opens-doors-to-wild-mustangs-too\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\">\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/\",\"name\":\"Idyllwild Town Crier\",\"description\":\"Almost All the News \\u2014\\u00a0Part of the Time\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/2015\/08\/14\/living-free-opens-doors-to-wild-mustangs-too\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/lf1.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/2015\/08\/14\/living-free-opens-doors-to-wild-mustangs-too\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/2015\/08\/14\/living-free-opens-doors-to-wild-mustangs-too\/\",\"name\":\"Living Free opens doors to wild mustangs, too • Idyllwild Town Crier\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/2015\/08\/14\/living-free-opens-doors-to-wild-mustangs-too\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-08-14T19:17:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-02-06T00:37:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/#\/schema\/person\/aeae3367986290257fc0e23a23079bb5\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/2015\/08\/14\/living-free-opens-doors-to-wild-mustangs-too\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/#\/schema\/person\/aeae3367986290257fc0e23a23079bb5\",\"name\":\"JP Crumrine\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/289a47b0cbb194a66eb24aa93f19f915?s=96&d=retro&r=g\",\"caption\":\"JP Crumrine\"},\"description\":\"JP Crumrine is news editor of the Idyllwild Town Crier newspaper.\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39772"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39772"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39772\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39789,"href":"https:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39772\/revisions\/39789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idyllwildtowncrier.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}