Melanie Sue Bowles–co-founder of Proud Spirit Horse Sanctuary, who alongside her husband, Jim,
has shepherded the sanctuary through nearly 35 years of challenges, changes, and relocations, in service of rescuing horses and providing them refuge–recalls the unlikely beginning, when they were decidedly not horse people. Bowles explained that having bought a home on a five-acre parcel of land (in Myakka FL), while settling into their new digs, they realized that all their neighbors had horses. This may have foreshadowed what would become multiple occurrences of contending with horse-owner group think. She recounts rescuing their first horse, Cody, a troubled soul that posed formidable challenges for first-timers, then—knowing that even a healthy horse needs companionship—began the search for the second one. I observe that even caring for multiple healthy horses would be rigorous for newbies, but many of these animals arrived at Proud Spirit having experienced trauma—at least, neglect, and in some cases, overt abuse. Plus, she notes, the difficult journey of traveling the learning curve was compounded by the ongoing dogma of her neighboring horse people, who criticized
Bowles’ methods while recommending practices she found confounding, such as weaning foals from their mothers at three months. While fielding an 
array of listener questions, including her views on doing business with auction houses/slaughterhouses (opposed) and rodeos (ditto), Bowles addresses the all-encompassing nature of rescue work and running a sanctuary. By way of example, she said she and her husband haven’t been on a vacation in 20 years. This dovetailed with examining the relentless, wearying element of fundraising, an essential enterprise in that realm—to buy food, to pay veterinarians, to cover a myriad of other expenses—that can’t be neglected in the least or the operation is compromised. Or folds. In a way, Bowles and I were revisiting part of an entire program we did in 2015 (https://talkinganimals.net/2015/11/melanie-sue-bowles-founder-director-of-proud-spirit-horse-sanctuary-2/), largely devoted to discussing fundraising in the rescue/sanctuary world, and the stakes of not consistently performing at a certain level. We conclude by touching on her work as an accomplished author, writing three nonfiction books about various aspects (and horses) of Proud Spirit, before turning her attention to writing novels for young readers, aged 8 and up, including “Liberty Biscuit” and “Little Pearl.” (https://horsesofproudspirit.org/)
ALSO: I spoke with Doug Booher, owner of Roxy’s Coffee, longtime animal advocate, and one of the organizers of “Stand Up for Dogs,” an event pegged to National Dog Fighting Awareness Day, slated to happen that night—April 8—at The Dog Bar in St. Pete. Booher briefly describes the current landscape of dog fighting, an under-the-radar, dark enterprise that’s somehow managed to become more nefarious, he noted, owing to the development of a more prominent betting component. He stresses the importance of generating wider support for the Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Animal Trafficking (FIGHT) Act, a bipartisan federal bill (H.R. 3946/S. 1454), designed to strengthen laws against dog fighting and cockfighting. Booher outlined the activities expected to be included across the “Stand Up for Dogs evening, including guest speakers, adoptable rescue dogs, raffles and prizes—and citing the organizations receiving the monies raised that night—as well as coffee from Roxy’s Coffee. (https://baristasblendcoffee.com/pages/events)
COMEDY CORNER: Joe Zimmerman’s “Pet Snakes (DS edit, Part 1) (https://www.zimmermancomedy.com/)
MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals
NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: We didn’t play “Name That Animal Tune” today.
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