Gizmo was surrendered to Miracle Horse Rescue on April 24, 2001. Gizmo is a 30 year plus, Appaloosa P.O.A. Regardless of his age he should have never had to endure starvation. He is blind in his left eye and when you talk to him he cocks his head, not only to look at you from his right eye, but we also believe he is listening to us. He has a wonderful personality, gentle and kind, but above all obviously very very forgiving, despite what he has endured at the hands of humans. I saw Gizmo several years ago at Gymkhana's, healthy and full of life taking his young riders on to many victory's in Barrel racing and Pole Bending. His latter years should have been rewarded, not going hungry and neglected. We are going to do all humanly possible for him and make the remainder of his life comfortable.
Gizmo Update 4/27/2001
At 10:00 am this morning we had to contact our Equine Veterinarian. Gizmo was having trouble breathing and he had drainage from his nostrils. We had been soaking his alfalfa cubes as he cannot eat hay. Being hungry he inhaled his food which formed the blockage in his esophagus. Our Veterinarian was not very optimistic about Gizmo's condition as he stated he was on the verge of complete starvation. He performed the medical treatment and managed to pull Gizmo through it all. What a trooper. Despite everything we have been doing we now have to take it one step further. We now need to make Gizmo an Alfalfa Soup, Equine Senior soup and grated carrot or carrot juice. This has to be given to him four (4) times per day. There can be NO chunks in his food. If we had to bottle feed him we would. We would also like for all that visit our site and read about Gizmo's plight to keep him in your thoughts.
At this time I would also like to express my deepest and most sincere gratitude to Katy Janda, the best volunteer anyone could ask for. She has taken Gizmo as her special project. She has spent so much time with him, but has never neglected our other special need horses. KATY YOU HAVE MADE SUCH A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE.....THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOMS OF OUR HEARTS!!!
GIZMO'S STORY
He came to Miracle, April 23, 2001 frail, weak, starved and neglected. He was a pathetic sight. If we could help Gizmo, then we will have suceeded. Three days after his arrival we had to have our vet out, Gizmo was in distress. After examing him, our vet said he just wasn't very optimistic, he went on to explain that due to his age and the severe neglect he had endured he would be very surprised if he survived. Well, not only did he survive but he flourished! This is not to say that it was an easy road for Gizzy. He had several obstacles that occurred on his way to recovery. The first, since he had been so malnourished was that all of his hair fell out. To avoid his being sunburned, we applied sunscreen on him daily. We don't think he liked it but he did tolerate the constant fussing over him and he did grow a beautiful coat after all this.
The next major obstacle was the total loss of his eye sight. He was frantic, but we stayed with him, comforting him and reassuring him that he would be fine. Once again, he overcame this and was a feisty little guy, taunting his barn roomies every chance he got. He enjoyed his grooming and his walks. He was pushy during those walks, but hey we figured he could be anything he wanted. He loved visitors cause they equated to carrots. Everyone who brought them to him, knew that they had to be small slender ones. Fixing him his special diet on a daily basis was never a chore....it was a joy. He loved his food, and he was comical in that aspect because he would not touch it unless he had his Sr. Equine. As I sit and write this I could go on and on about the things Gizzy would do and they bring a smile to my face despite the sorrow I feel in my heart.
This morning, 4/24/02 at 6:30am we knew we had a problem. Gizmo did not want to eat and his head was hanging. We contacted our veterinarian, yes the same one who first saw Gizmo. He gave him a thorough exam and found a ping pong ball size tumor in his throat. Gizmo could not swallow any longer. Though there are surgical procedures for this, he said that due to his age he would not survive. Once again, we were left with the decision. Our vet consoled us and said that we gave Gizmo a very good year of love and care and that he was lucky that we had been here for him, but it was time to say good-bye. With our final hugs being the last thing Gizmo felt he was put down gently and peacefully. Gizmo touched the lives of so many people and he is the one that will continue to inspire all of us here at Miracle Horse Rescue to be there for all those special horses that need our help. He will be missed.
