An untold story: Local horse lovers rescue horses and pets from Alabama

By Omileye Achikeobi-Lewis

“How did I get myself into this?” I asked my husband Derrick at 8:30 p.m. He’s trying to take care of a very busy little Omo, so I can fulfill my promise of delivering an article to the editor by noon the next day.
I remember wanting to let Katie Holme, director of Healing Horses, know about this lovely, horse-loving couple we met at the Lancaster County Economic Development Corp. annual dinner, Dr. Bob and Janet Henderson, of Nutramax. I wanted them to meet and they could see for the great work she has been doing in Lancaster County for many years.
Now, if you don’t know Katie, let me fill you in. She is a petite, dark-haired lady who hails from the United Kingdom. The first thing you notice about Katie is her enigmatic smile. The next thing you notice is how much she loves horses. The third thing you become privy to is how absolutely gifted she is in healing almost any horse that has been abused. Healing abused and neglected horses is Katie’s business and she does it well. Her reputation walks before her.
The first time I met Katie she was petting a beautiful brown horse that had been kept in a tiny trailer about the length and width of its body. That’s where it lived locked up for years. When the horse was rescued it had a problem with weaving (a horsy term for pacing up and down as if still confined). No one thought the horse could be rehabilitated. A few weeks later, I saw that same brown horse galloping joyfully and freely on her land. I was amazed.
By now, I am a total horse lover. So when I rang Katie this morning to find out if I could pop down to her ranch, I got all up into something else.
“We are just getting ready to receive some horses and animals from the tornado hit areas of Alabama,” said Katie, who was clearly excited.
I was all ears.
“There are horses running wild out there. They have lost their homes. There are also cats, and dogs that have nowhere to go," Katie said. "Terri Stemper, the founder of Dream Equine Therapy Center, is heading a volunteer effort to go to worst-hit areas of the Alabama tornado disaster. They are going to help and bring some other horses and other animals back.
“Healing Horses is trying to help out. We will accept some of the animals Terri will bring in," Katie said. "We are trying to organize foster homes for those horses. We are speaking to vets who can provide any medical supplies or services, such as vaccinations and providing initial care for animals that need it. We also desperately need temporary and permanent foster homes for the horses. We need blankets and bedding for the animals that will come back with Terri. Some of them will be pregnant! We are working with the unknown. We don’t know what type of animals will come back.”
Her words tumbled over each other anxiously. That’s understandable as the whole rescue mission she is talking about was to begin the following day, with Terri Stemper heading out to Alabama the next day. She will be there with a few volunteers until Sunday. Then she will bring that “unknown” factor back – the one Katie had been speaking about.
Suddenly, Katie’s tumbling words faded into a long audible sigh.
“We are really overstretched. We can’t take but so many of the horses coming in, but we have to do something to help.”
I think it was at that point I found myself desperately wanting to help her. The strain and tiredness in her voice prompted me on.
“Have you contacted the local newspaper?” I ask.
I can almost smell the answer.
“We have just been so caught up in this whirlwind of activity. So no, we haven’t had the time.”
I decide to get my feet wet and jump right on in.
“Well, I really want to want to help you guys collect the blankets and bedding for the horses, along with the other things you mentioned. What if I contact the local paper for you?”
Katie’s voice lights up. She thanks me profusely and directs me to speak to Terri of Dream Equine Therapy.
“She’s the person who really started this rescue mission idea,” she explains.
On the surge of an energy wave, I contact the local paper. They are interested. That’s the good news. I am happy for Katie and Terri’s rescue mission. However, there’s one hitch. The editor wanted the article by noon the next day.
Remember I told you about a very busy baby Omo? My heart was in the right place, but I wasn’t sure if my hands could deliver on time. Then I thought of a relieved Katie, a successful Terri, happy horses, happy cats, happy dogs and a compassionate mission and thought, “I sure will give it a try.”
With pulses racing, Katie gearing up her operation in Lancaster County and Terri already busy out helping horses and packing for Alabama, catching anyone on the phone for this story was a long shot.
Well, Terri did not pick up her phone. I decided to leave a message for her and pray for the best. You can imagine the joy of joys when 10 minutes later she texted me this message, “I will call you in an hour’s time.” She fulfilled her promise on the dot. Like Katie, she is all wired up about the mission to save as many sick, dying, stranded cats, dogs and horses as possible.
“I am doing this on the fly. I had the idea last weekend, planned it this weekend, made a few phone calls and rounded up some volunteers,” Stemper said.
“What do you expect to do when you get down there?” I asked.
It’s at that point I found out what Terri’s revelation that she is doing this on “the fly” really meant.
“The only thing I know is that when we get there we are going to help as many distressed horses and pets on the spot, as possible.”
She and her team of four (apparently few felt brave enough to experience the firsthand trauma of being in a disaster zone) were going to work with local vets and relief agencies in the area. On the way home they would “bring back the pre-storm pets from various Alabama animal shelters and help to place them in new homes.”
According to Terri, the logic behind this action is that the shelters would be free for the “storm pets.” Will these horse lovers bring any back on this occasion? Terri is clear: "We won’t bring any horses back on this occasion. We intend to make a trip back to Alabama in two months time or sooner. Any horses or storm pets that have not been claimed and have absolutely no home to go to we will bring them back.”
The more Terri talks the more and more impressed I become by her, Katie and the others involved in this outstanding act of heroism. There Katie is – overstretched, but she will take more horses and pets onto her ranch. Terri has to fork out $300 per person from her own pocket to make the trip to and from Alabama possible. And there’s so much more – the team going to Alabama will most probably have to sleep in tents because the hotels in Alabama are filled to the brim with displaced people. The acts of heroism go on and on.
It becomes obvious when you speak to both Katie and Terri, who are both based in South Carolina (Katie in Indian Land, Stemper in York) that there is a whole untold story about the death, destruction and trauma that the Alabama tornados wreaked on the animal world.
“You know everyone thinks about the affected humans of the tornado-hit areas, and that is fair enough. Very important, actually. But there are virtually no stories in the news of all the lost, sick and traumatized horses and pets. They also need our help.”
“So what made you come up with the idea?” I asked Terri, half expecting a complicated answer. But I don’t get one. What comes back is the simple compassion that oozes out of a single human being who just wants to help.
“I wanted to do something like this when Hurricane Katrina hit, but I couldn’t. I was a nurse at the time and had just got a new job,” she said.
Terri explained Katie Holme was the first person she contacted about the whole thing. The rest is history. Katie was amenable to the idea and gave her a ton of contacts, then the two women teamed up to make this whole heroic rescue mission possible.
My final question was prompted by an e-mail, which displayed another act of compassion and heroism. It was sent out by my husband’s boss, Keith Tunnell, president of the Lancaster County Economic Development Corp. It opened with these eye catching lines: “The Camp Creek area of Greene County, Tenn., was devastated by an F-2 or F-3 tornado and many horses were injured or now without proper barns and facilities. Six people died and 33 injured.”
Tunnell goes on to explain that he grew up in this very tight-knit, small farming community. Many people who live there rented their homes, had small farms (if they had one), no insurance or not enough insurance to cover all the damage caused by the terrible twisters that devastated their area. In fact, Tunnell’s sister still lives and works in that community as an assistant school principal. As a result, he is setting up a relief fund for the families there and will be asking as many people to contribute as possible. The funds will go straight to the families through a good distribution network of school and church.
So will Terri and Katie be helping the horses and pets of Tennessee? Terri’s response reflected their unwavering commitment to action: “Yes, we are strongly thinking of doing that.”
When you speak to Terri, it is clear that she really does not know what to expect when she and her team go to Alabama. Katie fills in the gaps. She was involved in a Hurricane Katrina animal rescue mission spearheaded by Rhonda Thomas, director of Project Halo, an impressive animal shelter and sanctuary in Charlotte. That was in August 2005. Katie said Project Halo saved the lives of hundreds of cats and dogs from there.
“I was the head of the cat rescue division. Rhonda was in charge of the dog division. At least 50 cats were brought back to my farm,” Katie added. I could almost see Katie’s smile through the phone.
It’s is a happy success story, for the most part, at least. Most of the animals have found homes.
“You know, with Hurricane Katrina, it involved water. The water was extremely infected. It was really disgusting. There were animals and, you know, people still floating in the water," Katie said. "I had a friend who went down there with Rhonda and she and some other volunteers suffered from post-traumatic stress. There were dead animals, the area was devastated, and the people were really suffering. My friend kept on reliving the whole horrible nightmare.”
Although Terri is new to such an animal rescue mission, she was aware of Project Halo’s experience.
“That is why we have ensured only very mature, level-headed volunteers have gone on this trip. That’s important. They are going to see all sorts of things.”
My fingers fly across the keyboards. It is now 2:23 a.m. I am still writing and near finishing. The baby is sleeping and my energy is being kept alive by one thought and one thought only – happy, cared-for horses and animals. Oh, there is another. It is something Deepak Chopra wrote: “We are all bucket carriers in the effort to put out a fire.” I smile, knowing that it was worth “getting myself into this.” I have a feeling that you will feel the same way to when you do, too.
Katie and Terri need blankets and bedding for the horses and pets they are helping, veterinarian assistance, medical supplies for the animals, financial donations and  temporary and permanent foster parents for the homeless animals. The drop-off points for bedding and blankets are as follows:
• Tractor Supply Co., 2374 Cross Pointe Drive, Rock Hill  
• Lakeside Paws and Claws, 4382 Charlotte Highway, Lake Wylie
• Humane Society of York County, 2036 Carolina Place, Fort Mill
• Preston Blackmon Center, 500 Palmetto St., Lancaster, (803) 286-5442
For more information, contact Katie Holme at (803) 804-0544 or info@healinghorses.us or Terri Stemper at (803) 980-8422 or (803) 417-3285 or detc@comporium.net.
 

Omileye Achikeobi-Lewis is a freelance journalist who lives in Lancaster.