So, What’s New At The Farm?

PHOTO: Happy, healthy and waiting for a forever home at Live and Let Live Farm in Chichester. The rescue farm has seen a plethora of kittens lately but adoptions are keeping up with the numbers. Covid has put a damper on the spay and neuter surgeries.

by Scott Philbrick
Live & Live Live Farm

Live and Let Live Farm Horse Rescue & Sanctuary has changed much over the 25 years since its inception in 1997. Like watching a pup grow day by day, one does not always notice the whispering encroachment of change, but to the friend or passerby who sees the pup say, every few weeks, the change can be vast and noteworthy.
Thinking it had been a couple of months since my last visit to “the farm,” I decided to stop in a few days ago and reconnect with the animals. In fact, it had been several months; far longer than I had realized or ever intended; time can slip by on us that way. I found the changes there to be both extensive and impressive.
New paddocks, skirted by newly painted, bright white fence rails, had been constructed since I last meandered the property. New run-outs sported freshly milled 5/4 vertical hemlock boards. The friendly but unfamiliar faces of volunteers I did not know smiled at and greeted me, the apparent stranger. For the first time in thirteen years, I felt like an outsider; little more than a visitor.
There was however, a soft reassurance in meeting up with some of the “old” volunteers, and horses as well. For as inevitable as change is, the push-pull relationship that change has with the static, the yin-yang we see constantly in life, is indeed reassuring. We build and expand, reaching out with new branches toward ancient skies watching over us; grasping at the unspoiled potential of a better future, while simultaneously digging down, ever deeper to set broad roots, anchored in drawing rich strength from the moist earthen soil. To remain a healthy entity, we need the equilibrium of both change and the inert.

So what’s new at the farm? What’s changed? One of the biggest changes in recent months at LLLF has been a deluge of pregnant cats. Thankfully, such a deluge is not unfamiliar territory for the farm, and thus far we’re staying ahead of the proverbial curve as adoptions are keeping up with the numbers of kittens (and mama cats) coming in. The deluge is due mostly to a ripple effect of not being able to spay/neuter adult cats, which is in turn due mostly to the complexities of continuing to navigate covid. As a result of this ripple effect, the numbers of spay/neuter surgeries have been significantly reduced, as it was not considered essential for the past two plus years while dealing with the pandemic.
We’ve also had a flood of newly surrendered guinea pigs, some pregnant, in a variety of ages, being turned over to us for the usual reasons. A lot of rabbits too, but for some reason, right now it’s a flood of guinea pigs.
Our horses, mules, ponies, goats, pigs, and cows are all doing well, enjoying the greens of summer, the cool waters, and mild zephyrs of our 70+ acre paradise. Whether you’re a horse grazing on a flush, green hillside under a clear blue sky, or a volunteer sitting next to that grazing horse, there truly is nothing like being on a farm.

The influx of pregnant and/or abandoned dogs coming in both locally and from around the country remains fairly steady, and while manageable at this time, we find ourselves really wishing we had the new adoption & rehabilitation facility we’ve envisioned (described in our last LLLF update), as it would save more lives and alleviate much of the overcrowding issues and animal stress for the many dogs and cats and puppies and kittens, as well as other small animals currently housed in the Brittany Searing Memorial Building. But with building material costs still being so high, and fundraising so difficult this past year, we believe wisdom dictates holding off for a while longer. More to follow as this vision develops.

In early July LLLF was asked to assist Pope Memorial SPCA with an urgent poultry rescue in the Concord area. A woman had been evicted from her house, leaving behind a total of eighteen quail, four hens, and a rooster, all of whom were housed inside the home. Not living in the best of conditions to begin with, these unfortunate birds went an additional two days or more without food or water, their suffering amplified all the more by the intense heat we’ve been experiencing this summer.

In a related rescue, and one of the more peculiar rescues at that, perhaps guided by serendipity, Teresa was preparing to leave LLLF to meet the landlord of the apartment where the aforementioned birds were kept, when a man drove up to the farm, catching her attention. He had with him a Bearded Dragon, which he had found, by total happenstance, at the edge of his father’s driveway, barely alive. Ostensibly the lizard had been discarded by someone who kept it as a pet and no longer wanted it, or perhaps it had escaped and wandered off.
Either way, it was clear that the poor lizard was in pretty rough shape. Teresa took the creature in, and began soaking it for rehydration, then contacted one of our volunteer families who has great knowledge in caring for reptiles. He was found to be suffering from dehydration, starvation, and a condition called coccidia. Currently, after a few weeks of rehabilitation, hydrating, and hand feeding with proper lighting (and love), newly named Frodo the Bearded Dragon, is doing well, thriving as he gains daily in both strength and health.
The Snip-It NH mobile surgical unit has lost some veterinary surgical assistants, so we are currently in need of replacing them; ideally with someone who could give us a day a week, or even a day a month, to help get us surgeries back on track in our efforts to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies.
And speaking of help, we’re also in need of assistance with ground, building, and small vehicle maintenance. If you, or anyone you know, might be interested in filling this role, contact Teresa at the email address in the contact info provided below. And don’t forget our adoption events are Sundays from 2:00 to 4:00, or by appointment.
As always, we remain ever grateful to our army of volunteers, donors, and supporters. The work we do, the work we’ve done for a quarter century now, could not be done without you. Your caring hands and giving hearts truly make all the difference in these animals’ lives in their greatest hour of need.

Please consider contacting Live and Let Live if you’re considering adopting a loving family companion. Financial contributions are desperately needed and greatly appreciated, as the costs to operate such a facility are staggering. Contributions are fully tax deductible, and 100% allocated to the care and healing of these animals. Contact Teresa by email, at: tehorse@aol.com, or send donations to: Live and Let Live Farm Rescue, 20 Paradise Lane, Chichester NH 03258. Donations can also be made with credit or debit cards, at: www.liveandletlivefarm.org. We welcome you for our weekly tours, held Sundays at 2:30 pm, to meet the animals of Live and Let Live Farm. If you’re looking to adopt or become part of the working hands and caring hearts of our volunteer family, the tour is where it all begins.