 |
 Gifts of Great Meaning |
 The holiday season has taken on a different meaning
for my family over the past couple of years. Like so many
others, each of us has all that we really need. The season of
giving had become the season of excess. It is hard to get a
gift for the person that truly has everything that they need
and want. But on a deeper level, each of us has something that
they wish for with all their heart. Often it was something
that money can�t buy: a cure for a disease that has touched a
loved one, protection for the disappearing wild places, a
desire for all creatures to be safe and warm and protected,
healing for children betrayed by those they trusted and
depended upon. In keeping with those truest desires of the
heart, we began giving to those people and organizations that
champion the causes of our loved ones. Maybe we couldn�t cure
that disease or save that pristine island from development,
but we banded together with like minded people who could make
a difference through their collective will and donations.
Perhaps our meager gifts didn�t give safety, shelter, and a
meal to each and every lost soul, but we gave enough to make a
difference for one. To that one, it can mean life or death.
I am pleased that my gift to my little niece is not
just one of many that will be piled up under the tree and
forgotten in a week. She will see the picture of the little
special needs cat sponsored in her name and get reminders of
her throughout the year. I hope she thinks of that little cat
often and learns the lesson that each of us can do our small
part to make things better. I hope she learns that in reaching
out to others, we find the best parts of ourselves.
If
you or your family shares in this idea, we have some ideas in
the following article of ways you can give in the name of a
loved here at Gallastar. We also provide links to other grass
roots non-profit organizations that we have personally seen in
action and know do great works with the resources that they
have. Each of these organizations have been there for us over
the past year with encouragement and resources. Christmas for
the Pigs at Shepherd�s Green Sanctuary in Tennessee truly is
the most wondrous day of the year for all of the pigs that
reside there. It is a day of fabulous excess for these little
critters but one that they richly deserve. For only five
dollars you can give joy beyond measure. See www.9sites.com/christmas2007.htm.
The
Almost Home Animal Shelter in our county is a No-Kill shelter
that raises the bar to new heights in the care and placement
of animals that have no other alternative. The Nelson County
Humane Society helps spay and neuter animals throughout the
county and makes a difference in the lives of animals every
day. They have always been there for us when we needed them
for cat or dog help. For more information, visit www.nelsonspca.org.
And, of course,
don't forget visit us on the web at www.gallastar.org and www.vaalliance4potbelliedpigs.org.
Also, our good friend Mary Ann at Pigtailz Junction
Sanctuary has many wonderful gifts for sale at her on her
online store at pigstuff.com.
All proceeds go to care for the many animals at her
sanctuary.
Happy Holidays!
Lorelei Pulliam
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| Sponsor an Animal |
 For a one-time $30.00 donation or more (
shipping included), you will receive either a Farmer Santa or
a Pig Riding Santa ornament for your tree. There is one cat
angel ornament for sponsorship of our very special feline,
Percy. Along with the ornament (valued at 12.00), You will
also receive a certificate of sponsorship and a picture of
your animal.
Please visit our sanctuary website to pick out an animal or if you prefer
we will do it for you. This is a wonderful opportunity to give
the gift of life in honor of a loved one.
Virginia
Alliance for Potbellied Pigs
| |
| Sponsor a Rider or a Horse |
 For a donation of $110.00 or more (
shipping included), you will receive a beautiful musical
rocking horse. Valued at $80.00, there are a limited number of
these. The horses are about 12 inches in length and ten inches
high. Each of these would be treasured by anyone on your
Christmas list (they look great on a mantle or table!) and
comes with a certificate of sponsorship. To give, visit the Gallastar
website. | |
| Spotlight on a Special Pony - Heaven |
 How many children asked Santa for a pony
over the years? I know that I was one of them! Heaven has been
that special pony for me and so many others over these many
years. Heaven was born Belcott�s Delight. She was the mother
of many an expensive show pony here in Virginia. Delight is a
half Arab/half Welch pony. When she foundered, got older and
could no longer be bred, she was of no use to anyone. In
essence, she was used up and had nowhere to go. Euthanasia was
even discussed as an option. Luckily for this beautiful pony,
her owner decided to try and donate her to a therapeutic
riding program. We had just lost a dear old therapy horse and
decided to take a chance on her, even though her riding
experience was extremely limited.
We re-named her
Heaven and over the course of many years, she has given us
nothing but the very best. Even at the age of twelve, she was
easy to train and became a favorite of the abused, at-risk and
disabled children that we serve. She is truly a co-worker and
has that quality that sets her apart � to know how to react to
each child and what it is that they need from her.
Years ago, there was a forest fire on the adjacent
property. I rushed to call the fire department before the
flames spread. It was critical that I ride through the woods
to meet the firefighters and show them how to follow the
logging trails to get to where the fire was. Heaven was the
closest horse and I literally threw the tack onto her and
galloped off. That pony dashed fearlessly down a road with
flames on both sides. It is the stuff movies are made of.
In 2002, she suffered an extreme case of colic and was
rushed to surgery. It was determined that she had suffered a
strangled bowel by a lipoma ( fatty tumor ) at the very end of
her large intestine. They gave her only a ten percent chance
of survival, but we opted to give her that chance. She beat
the odds and has never had a tummy ache since.
In the
spring of 2006, she choked on a cut up apple. Three visits
from her regular vet could not dislodge or give her help.
Another visit to Blue Ridge and they too were unable to
dislodge the apple without more drastic measures. Once again,
at the age of 28, Heaven was given general anesthesia and
turned belly up. The apple dislodged and she has had not ill
effects once she recovered.
When we were offered her
sister, who shared an almost identical history, we did not
hesitate to take her in. After being separated from her sister
for nine years, they immediately recognized each other and are
now inseparable. Both of them suffer from Cushing's disease
and require expensive medication daily. Please read the letter
to Heaven from one of the children she has helped. For those
of us who have been surrounded by horses for years, it is all
too easy to forget the magic that a horse or pony can hold for
a child.
| |
| Spotlight on a Very Special Rider - A Letter from
Jessica |
 For Heaven and friends,
Once upon
a time there was a horse named Heaven. She was so perfect. She
respects everybody. She can love and trust. It�s perfect to
have a horse like Heaven. You�re the best. You�re the super
friend I can ever have. You�re the best friend to me. You�re
my sister or my daughter. You are a pretty horse ever and you
feel like when I ride you it feels like my imagination that I
will be sitting on a rock that�s so pretty and bounces up and
down.
I loved when you walked. I can�t wait when we
trot again and gallop another time. When we did the obstacle
course that was fun. It was perfect. Guess what Heaven? When I
got back when I saw you in the last day when I went home, I
looked at your picture and started crying. Then my mom gave me
stuff about horses and a mystical hose and books about them
and it was good. My mom and my sister get me books about
horses.
I miss you all of the time and the pig, cat
and all of ya�ll. I miss you guys lots. I know you miss me
too. You guys and girls and women are the best too. And I love
ya�ll lots and lots and miss my friends the horses � Heaven,
Dominos, and Surprise....
Love, Jessica
| |
| Good News for Pigs Rescued by the Teddy Bears!
|
 The four pigs from Fredericksburg
profiled in our October newsletter have found homes together
with a wonderful family in our very own neighborhood.
Junior has moved in with the three girl pigs that he
had lived adjacent to for many years. Although he is a
curmudgeon supreme, the family adopting the three beauties
agreed to take him as well when we explained that it was
doubtful that Junior would ever again find another friend to
spend his remaining time with. We honor family ties and the
deep bonds of friendships among the animals here. Over the
years, we have seen horse friends remember each other after
years of being apart. We have witnessed animal families stay
together for their lifetimes and stand faithfully by their
sick or wounded buddies or family members. This sends a
powerful message to the children who come here as well - the
message that family and relationships matter most of all.
Those are the ties that bind. Sometimes it is hard to find
those ties, but they are out there and when you do find them -
hold on tight.
| |
| Animal Family in Need |
 In this season of giving, there is an
animal family that truly needs our help. An industrious sow
escaped the confines of her pen in an effort to find safety
for her troupe of 11 piglets. They were signed over by animal
control by an owner who was in the process of sending them all
to slaughter but was having problems finding transportation.
Rather than face fines and pay for damages caused by the
runaway family, he signed them over to Animal Control. They
have found temporary foster care but Animal Control is not
going to hold onto them much longer and they are scheduled to
be euthanized if homes are not found. If you or anyone you
know would be willing to help these intelligent and beautiful
creatures, this is the time. If you, like so many others, want
to help farm animals, a sponsorship could do just that. We are
in the process of finding sanctuaries who will take them in.
But we cannot ask that unless we can provide them with
financial help for the additional housing, fencing and feed
that will be required for such large animals. We just can�t
let this brave Mom and her babies be destroyed after all that
they have already come this far!
Mathew Sculley wrote
in his powerful book, Dominion: "How we treat our
fellow creatures is only one more way in which each one of us,
every day, writes our epitaph, bearing into the world a
message of light and life or just more darkness and death,
adding to the world's joy or to it's despair."
Let's
find a way to give the choice of Life and Light and Joy this
Holiday Season for these precious beings as well! Contact us
at Gallastar if you can help in any way.
| |
| Piglets Need Homes! |
 We have seven beautiful piglets needing
placement. All will be socialized,spayed/neutered,
microchipped, de-wormed and vaccinated before they leave our
facility. Two have been brought up in the house. They must be
placed in an approved home with a brother or sister or in a
home with another pig. We all need someone of our own species
to talk to! (see our adoption
policies for more information.
| |
| Bye Bye Sweet Peaches |
 We were not prepared that day, the first
day of the rescue. We arrived with no plan and a couple of
crates in case any of the 84 desperate animals were in dire
need. In the dust coated pen that had no adequate water or
food, a few tiny piglets needed immediate assistance. The heat
was unbearably intense. As we caught and crated the first of
the terrified little ones, a mature pig emerged from the rest
of the herd with eyes blazing. It was a sow who would soon be
known as Peaches. Forgetting all of her fear of humans and the
mistreatment that she and her herdmates had endured, Peaches
practically leapt into the crate with the piglet. That must be
her baby, we thought. Those thoughts subsided when we unloaded
her and several other little babies and when the tiniest one
looked up at her as if to ask if she had seen his mama.
Peaches just nosed him, lay down and made grunting noises for
all of the piglets to nurse.
I can honestly say that I
have never been fearful of any pig we have rescued, only
respectful. Peaches, well, she was a bit different. At the
onset, she took on the responsibility of being mom to a dozen
little ones of all ages and sizes. And Lord help you if you
did anything to upset one of those precious beings. Peaches
would be there in a heartbeat threatening to take a plug out
of you � though she never once did. When one little guy
required antibiotic shots after his neuter, Lorelei tended to
him inside a metal crate and surely felt like she was in a
shark cage as Peaches tried to tear the crate apart to save
�her� little one. She mourned the loss of each one as they
left for new homes until finally it was her turn to be spayed
and return to the large herd. Now she could relax and heal in
a place where hunger or thirst would never plague her again.
Never again would any of these pigs have to fight for food,
water, shelter or the lives of their babies. For years they
had watched and mourned for their lost ones as they were
culled or sent to homes in exchange for a quick buck and no
thought to the fate of the animal.
Peaches the lion
became Peaches and cream. Never again did she threaten any
living creature. Not once did she bully or fight for her place
in the herd. She was content to just be sweet Peaches and
looked upon us as her good and trusted friends. She knew she
was special to me, she knew that I would be sure that she got
extra apples and squash and bananas, she knew that I would
call her name so she could be present before the treats
commenced. She knew that she had a special place in my heart.
Last Tuesday, she appeared to come down with a sudden
pneumonia. Wheezing in her chest and a refusal to eat did not
bode well. A temperature ten degrees below normal made the
prognosis grim. We brought her into our house and warmed her
for a couple of hours in case it was hypothermia from the cold
temperatures. When her temperature did not rise, our local vet
told us that her only hope was to travel to a large animal
hospital where she would have intensive care. He asked us what
we were willing to do to try and save her. The obvious answer
was � whatever it takes. We loaded her up into our tiny Honda
and I began a nighttime six hour journey with Peaches to the
University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She struggled valiantly
but left this life in my arms just after I crossed the
Tennessee border. I will never forget her looking me squarely
in the face with her beautiful golden eyes. I stroked her,
told her how much we loved her, and turned around so she could
rejoin her herd. Today I have touched and stroked her for the
last time.
She will stay here forever on this farm,
forever with us, under the earth where her herd grazes and
lies in the sun by the creek. She stands forever in our hearts
as a testament to all that we strive for here at Gallastar, a
testament to protection of the weak and the helpless, a
testament to standing up boldly for those that need help so
that they too can have purpose and a sense of worth. She gave
nourishment to those in need, not asking whose responsibility
it should be. And in the process, she nourished us. We will
miss you dearly, but rest, sweet girl, for yours was a job
well done.
Ron Pulliam
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| This Newsletter in Memory of Mr.Chuck Roscher
|
| This newsletter brought to you in Memory of Charles
Roscher. Mr. Roscher was the epitome of all that is good,
honorable, and decent in this world. He patiently heading a
household of extreme animal lovers and rescuers. His gentle
spirit live on in his wife Shirley, daughters Liz and Sue,
sons Glen and Charles Jr., as well as many grandchildren.
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