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The Newcomer
(by Della Bacon - June 08, 2009)
There are no strangers here. Just friends you have yet to meet.
She is a Cancer survivor. He miraculously survived numerous operations on his face and skull, to mend the damage caused by a terrible automobile accident that crushed nearly every bone in his face. She was going through Chemotherapy at the time. They are retired educators, who are alive and well, living an unbelievable dream. Last year the fires in and around Paradise and Yankee Hill threatened their property and they evacuated, with the help of their neighbors. It wasn’t easy. You see, the animals on their property were in danger, and the awesome neighbors came with horse-trailers to move them to the Chico State University Farm.
After having lost their home and all of their belongings in a fire in 2001, Donna and Jim Kyle totally turned their life and life-style around. Currently they care for 50 beautiful, well-groomed animals, on their small property. (Also living there are mules, donkeys, dogs, cats.) Jim Kyle, also a General Contractor, has almost completed construction of a stand-alone green house, all solar and wind-powered. There are four 1,000- gallon wells that pump 5,000 gallons of water a day. Everything is energy efficient, costing approximately $125 a year for the energy. The animals live the life of luxury, in a peaceful environment. The property is meticulously fenced, has beautiful stalls, and barns, and there is not a fly in sight.
Today, hardworking, cheerful Donna Kyle tends the animals. She is up before dawn each day and says, “Horse work before Housework!” This former elegant, elementary school teacher now wears rubber boots, wades in water up to her knees, cleans, grooms and feeds the animals. She sweeps the barns and rakes the barnyard. Jim, a former school superintendent and principal, starts his day in the kitchen. They are happy to be alive, and working together, doing their part to help animals enjoy a decent retirement. The Kyles maintain they are not “Do-Gooders.” They are doing what they love. They are still educating children and grown-ups, by opening their home, land and hearts to anyone and everyone who believes there is room for all of us in this world. If you are interested in learning more about the Kyles, you can contact them at Home At Last, Inc. (a CA. 501 C-3 Non-Profit Corporation) Equine Rescue & Retirement Sanctuary, Yankee Hill, California. (Phone: 530-514-1439)
After walking through the property, meeting those gorgeous animals, and interviewing the happily married couple, my head was swimming with dozens of questions: “Fine, you are doing what you love. You have saved these animals from the slaughterhouse. But, what’s the purpose? How can you afford to feed and house 50 large animals? What does it cost to support 50 large animals?” The cost to feed one horse is over a $100 a month. The Mission Statement of Home at Last is “to eliminate the causes of equine abuse, neglect and suffering through education.”
Their principal source of funding comes from donations of concerned people. Yeah! Just ordinary people like you and me. We can become involved. We can volunteer to help out caring for an animal. To become a member of Home at Last Sanctuary one can check it out on the internet: homeatlastsanctuary@gmail.com and/or visit this extraordinary family and property. My first thought is that Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and church groups can benefit and be educated in the care of these animals. They could earn badges, do fund raising projects, etc.
Honorable Mentions of others involved at Home At Last:
Caitlin Davies, a senior high school student volunteers for credits. She previously lived in Castro Valley. She wants to become a registered nurse and will be attending Butte College in the fall. Her brother Alex Davies is 14 and attends school in Concow. Aron Hamon and Amy Farrier are the horseshoers. They travel all over the North Country and love working with the horses. Amy is also a ‘Horse-Whisperer.” Training horses is her forte. I also met Su Nelson Schiecht of Yankee Hill. She helps out at the ranch; previously she managed a bed and breakfast in Caspar, Calif. (I remember Jug Handle Beach Inn ... do you? Jim Kyle grew up in my part of the world, Menlo Park. His Dad taught at Stanford University. Jim and Donna met while attending Cal Poly in Pomona.)
Yankee Hill is just a few miles up the road from Oroville. Yet many of the people I questioned didn’t have a clue it was just a such a short ride from Oroville.
Guess What? My very favorite animal lover is Dan Hillyard at Bark Avenue Pet Grooming. He has returned to work, and I am excited and elated. Bless his heart; he has been through the mill and back. Thanks to Denise Andree and all the others who kept Bark Avenue Pet Grooming up, running, and busy. “Big or Small ... We Love Them All!
The more I write, the more I hear from my readers their greatest Pet-Peeve— Over breeding. With the economy the way it is, too many animals are being abandoned, or left to starve to death, when their owners move. Many people are still breeding animals for profit, without concern for their future. Cats run wild in the area, where I live. Some seem to be starving to death. I wonder, “Are they diseased?”
Well folks that’s all for today...drop me a line and let me know what you are doing with your spare time? della@diggernews.net.
della bacon
The Newcomer
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