our pets: LOYAL FRIENDS
For the Love of a Friend
Does true friendship
really last forever?
A
immediately. Just like people, horses have other horses
they prefer to eat with or walk with, but with Hootie and
Fancy, it was different.
“Hootie followed Fancy everywhere,” Teresa said.
She described their relationship as being, “Kind of like a
little marriage. Fancy would tell him what to do but he
would always be right there to protect her [and] take care
of her when she needed it,” she continued. “He would
have done anything for his best friend.” This unfailing
loyalty never wavered, even when Fancy’s health started
to decline.
Early in her career, Fancy acquired a leg injury that
had unexpected effects as she grew older. Gradually,
because of this injury and the added stress of old age, her
health deteriorated. “It got to the point where I was the
only one who could get her up in the morning,” Teresa
said. “She had no more motivation to get up … . Once
AUGUST 2016 PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY
ristotle described best friends as a single soul split
between two bodies. Most people have had a friend
that we thought, or perhaps wished, would be with us
forever. However, it’s sometimes only when we lose our
best friends that we can truly understand their value to our
lives.
Just like people, members of the animal kingdom are
able to develop strong friendships that can last a lifetime.
Hootie is an 18-year-old quarter horse gelding and
Fancy was a 32-year-old, quarter horse mare from
Washington. The two had been inseparable since the
beginning of the Stars and Strides equine therapy program.
The program, established in 2012, uses therapeutic riding
as a tool for physical therapy, emotional growth and learning.
Teresa Miller, co-owner of the Stars and Strides
program, tells us that Hootie became attached to Fancy
Hootie and Fancy
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BY EMMA MOORMAN