Kingsville woman loves disabled farm animals
Star Beacon (Ashtabula OH USA)
KINGSVILLE — Tufts of grass blow in the calm breeze at Storybook Acres, flies buzz and Ed the donkey takes a good roll in the dust.
It is August at the rescue farm and winter seems a long way off, snowflakes and ice are months away. But just like clockwork, the cold weather is coming and the very thought of it sends a little shiver down Michele Duchene-Marshall's spine. For all the beauty of a northeast Ohio winter, Duchene-Marshall knows it is the hardest time of the year for her babies.
Duchene-Marshall and her family own Storybook Acres, a small rescue sanctuary for crippled or otherwise disabled farm animals. Here on this carefully kept farm, goats toddle around on prosthetic legs and hooves made of clay. Recovering from a paralyzing stroke, Gracie Lu the pig snores in the kitchen and Helen the blind dog keeps an ear to the opening of the cookie jar.
Summer days are slipping away, leaving Duchene-Marshall to wonder what winter will bring for her happy menagerie.
“I need help and I know it,” she said. “I have come to the realization that the winters are too hard on the animals and I am hoping people will care as much as I do about them.”
Duchene-Marshall wants to add a 10 foot by 12 foot heated clinic to the farm to help the critters survive, especially Daisy the goat, who lost her sister Rosie last winter.
“Daisy is especially susceptible to illness now,” Duchene-Marshall said. “I worry about her terribly.”
The clinic will cost $5,000 to build, Duchene-Marshall estimates. In anticipation of another overwhelming winter, she has established the farm as a 501/3 organization, meaning all donations to the construction are tax deductible.
“I know there are people out there who think I am completely nuts for doing this,” Duchene-Marshall said. “I mean, who in their right mind keeps a blind sheep? Who thinks it is normal for a pig to sleep next to the washing machine?”
“I want this to be a place for these animals to live out their lives free to roam around. They aren't penned up and they get good, wholesome food. These animals have suffered, often at the hands of humans. They have the right to be cared for now,” she said.
Care simply isn’t the word for what Duchene-Marshall does for her animals. Gracie Lu is spoon-fed oatmeal and pumpkin and Magnus, the new pig on the block, comes running for a peppermint. Bennie the goat came to Storybook with two broken knees and Shirley the goat has no legs, her prosthesis are made of PVC pipe. Baby, the blind sheep, spent the majority of his 10 years in a pen until he came to Storybook Acres.
Gus the goat is a sweet creature made sweeter with Duchene-Marshall’s love.
“Gus came to us with a shattered leg, his owners said he was kicked by a horse,” Duchene-Marshall said. “But the most disturbing thing is that they left him with a broken leg for four days before they brought him here. He spent hours in surgery and now the vet said he can't believe how well our little Gus is doing.”
Duchene-Marshall spends her little spare time writing stories about the animals for children and makes fragrant soap from the goat’s milk to sell to benefit the animals. She gives tours of the farm, grows vegetables in her garden to sell by the road, and mixes herbal ointments and liniments to sell, all for the care of the animals.
“I make the soap and write the stories and give the tours to show that these animals have so much left to give. They have so much to teach us about animals and about who we are as people,” Duchene-Marshall said.
For more information about Storybook Acres, to buy Duchene-Marshall’s products or to make a donation, go to www.story bookacres.org or call (440) 335-4019.
Donations can be sent to:
Storybook Acres,
4309 Creek Road
Conneaut, Ohio 44030
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