Today we’d like to introduce you to Tracy Miller.
Hi Tracy, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
T.E.X.A.S. Rescue is a 501(c)3 nonprofit charity dedicated to the rescue efforts of donkeys, horses, and mules within Texas! These animals are victims of abuse, neglect, starvation, abandonment, law enforcement seizures, changes within families where ownership is no longer an option, or left alone and forgotten. Once they arrive at our rescue, we attended to their medical and hoof care needs, deworming, and ultimately…. decompression time.
The donkeys move on to a new life as Therapy Donkeys, which is where T.E.X.A.S. Rescue now devotes the majority of our efforts… Mental Health in our community.
The donkeys offer their unique resources to Veterans, special needs children and adults, autism, first responders, hospital and hospice visits, memory care facilities, and major disasters within Texas.
No different than therapy dogs, donkeys have an innate ability to connect to anyone dealing with issues. They comfort and listen, and never judge, making them the perfect therapists.
The acronym “T.E.X.A.S.” stands for Texas Equine Xperience And Sanctuary, and is living up to its name and function of providing these amazing creatures a Sanctuary for life!
Hence our mantra…
“We rescue the animals… The animals rescue people”
All of the programs that we provide are offered to the community, specialty groups, or victims of disasters, FREE OF CHARGE, and is our way of giving back to not only the animals, but to folks here in Texas!
Visit our facility and animals, and you will become a believer, as well as fall in love with these highly intelligent animals!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The actual “rescue” portion of what we do has been fairly simple. The more difficult aspect is fundraising on a regular basis to help cover the costs of feed and medical expenses. These are our two highest-cost expenditures that never go away.
The middle ground of difficulty is public awareness of the neglect that most of these animals experience. We are continually educating the public through our speaking programs.
Our next hurdle will be the search for a larger property that will allow for expansion and rescue efforts beyond our current 90 rescue animals! It all comes at a significant cost!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As the Co-Founder of T.E.X.A.S. Rescue, knowing that we are saving and caring for the lives of these animals is rewarding! However, initiating our unique programs sets us apart from most standard rescues, which takes those personal rewards to a new level!
The fact that we do this work as a family, is one of the best things that we do! My Co-Founders are my wife, Vicki, and our son, Austin! Having three family members with lifelong animal rescue experience makes for a rather uniquely qualified Executive Board of Directors.
What really sets us apart from many other rescues, is the sanctuary lives that our rescue animals lead, for the rest of their lives. Most rescue facilities adopt animals out on a regular basis. Not here… they are now part of our family!
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
In our line of rescue and caregiving work, you can count on extremely long days every day, but it will keep you in shape, physically and mentally in your retirement years. There is no time to take a break. You must possess a passion for this type of work!
We all wish that we would have known early on, that we were creating something for not only our benefit, but for everyone that comes in contact with our Therapy Donkeys! They have changed many lives, and will continue to do so… and, they love every minute of their job!
To learn more about what we do, or how you can become a part of our rescue family, please visit our website at:
TexasRescue.org
Thank you for allowing me to tell our story! We appreciate you opening our world to others!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://TexasRescue.org
- Instagram: t.e.x.a.s._rescue_inc
- Facebook: T E X A S Rescue Inc, Texas Equine Xperience And Sanctuary
