Today we’d like to introduce you to Cheryl Flanagan.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was a child of the ’50s television was overrun with westerns, good guys vs bad guys. Everyone rode horses; some horses were heroes and saved the good guys. I fell in love with horses. I grew up on the South Side of Chicago behind Carmen’s Italian store, where I did my first illegal rescue. I could have been the youngest convict in the local jail, but I didn’t get caught. They had snails, which they called Escargot, and I found out that people eat them, so when I went to get my mother’s grocery list, I pocketed a handful of snails every time I could. I would release them in the shower, and they slimed up the walls. I was happy.
I always had a love for animals. I saw many cattle and hog transporters drive down 47th Street going to the slaughter yards. I looked in their eyes, and my heart was broken. I am glad my family didn’t have the financial means to eat meat all the time.
I saved any pigeon hit by a car, mending them with band-aids. A few dogs ‘followed’ me home (with a little coaxing from me), and I knew every dog in the neighborhood.
Then I found the horse stables at the end of Cook County and took the city bus to the end of the line, hopped on the suburban bus, and hitchhiked the last 15 miles to Lucky Circle stables. They offered trail riding for $3. an hour and I saddled all the horses and took people out as a trail guide. I got to ride for 10-12 hours a day, FREE! What a deal for me. I spent my weekends and summers there and often went in winter. No riders came, so I could ride around the countryside on my own horse. It was one of the stable4s horses, but they let me take him out anytime.
After we had children, we moved to a small farm and had a few horses. I became a 4-H leader and ran the equestrian program. Then, I was involved in the United States Pony Club as a District Commissioner on and off for 20 years. We lived near Tampa Bay Downs, so I learned my way around the track. I learned that the track was opened a few months and the horses that didn’t win were left behind for the slaughter truck. There was no parimutuel betting, so the horses were transported from track to track, and if they weren’t winning, no transport money was wasted. Every year, when the track closed, I took all the unwanted Thoroughbreds and found homes through 4-H and USPC.
When I moved to Georgia in 1991, Hurricane Andrew hit Homestead, Florida where many people had backyard horses. I gathered some good people, collected supplies, feed, and hay with the help of Webb General Store and Will Parks Equestrian Center, and sent down supplies to help. A friend in CA let us use her nonprofit if anyone wanted a write-off for their donation. When she passed away in 1998, I started the Horse Rescue Relief and Retirement Fund in her honor.
Over the years, we have rescued hundreds of horses and other animals. We went to New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and to Orange, Texas, during Hurricane Harvey. We set up triages with people we met: veterinarians, animal lovers, and just great people. The Salvation Army was always there to help us as well. There are many good people in the world, and I am so lucky to be able to work alongside them.
Savethehorses, which is the most common name for us, has a facility in Cumming where volunteers come 7 days a week through any kind of weather. These animals change lives every day. We also have a farm in Talking Rock, GA with volunteers daily. We are starting a War Horse Georgia Veterans Program very soon at Talking Rock.
Horses come from so many different stories. Some from the Sheriff, animal control, the GA Dept. In agriculture, private owners kill buyers with horses on the way to slaughter, kids lose interest, go to college, lose jobs, and health issues. We meet humans with many issues as well. Horses have the healing power we want to share with everyone we can. We need to realize we are all Earthlings and share the world.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Life is not a smooth road, but I believe that doing good comes back to you. Of course, finances are always an issue. We take in many needy horses, sick, old, cancer, blind, horses not many people want, but they change the lives of the people giving to them. We can be down to almost no money, but someone comes along and donates a vehicle, makes a generous donation or several people donate a small amount. I am very hands-on, and I love it. It does stop me from fundraising, though. Our vets and farriers and feed stores know us and always extend credit when we need it. We are honest and tell them what’s going on, and they know we always pay…eventually.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My heart rules me. My love of animals drives me. My volunteers who come daily are the heartbeat of the rescue. There are volunteers who have been here for 20 years. I think they all feel this wonderful energy the rescue has and it feeds our souls.
We are known for helping in any way we can. We are the ones we take the unwanted because most people want to know what the horse can do for them. Here we give not take. The horses owe us nothing. I think there are many people doing good in this world. I can introduce you to 100 people here anytime. We have over 25,000 hours of volunteers yearly.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.SaveTheHorses.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/savethehorsesrescue/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaveTheHorses.org
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@savethehorses6431
- Other: https://greatnonprofits.org/org/horse-rescue-relief-and-retirement-fund-inc-savethehorses-org?search=savethehorses
