The Kind Barn

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The Kind Barn

Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from The Kind Barn, Animal shelter, Smiths Falls, ON.

12/24/2022

Yay! In the winter storm - the run-in and row barn are actually being used! They’re filled with hay so that all the kids can eat away from the blowing wind! Thank you to everyone who has helped me pay for these building! The horses and I really, really appreciate it!!!!

12/21/2022

Quilt Raffle Winner! Again - sorry this post is delayed! Every time I try posting a video it takes days and days to load … so I have aborted that mission. But anyway … the winners are as follows:

#1 - Quilt winner - Jessie Lee
#2 - Savannah Oram
#3 - Alina Carter

I will be contacting you all individually to figure out delivery!

Thank you again to everyone who participated! I literally couldn’t do this without you!! Merry Christmas!!

12/12/2022

CHRISTMAS QUILT RAFFLE! So in order to help pay for Apple’s recent eye surgery (and hopefully some winter hay) I am having a last minute Christmas quilt raffle. As usual - the tickets are $25 each and you’ll be entered to win a handmade quilt valued at $800-$1000! There will also be prizes for the second and third place winners (I’ll post picks of those soon).

I will draw a winner on the evening of Monday, December 19th so I’ll still have time to get the quilt and prizes to the winners before Christmas

The quilt is a pattern by Suzy Quilts and I used Rifle Paper Co. fabrics from their Holiday Classics collection. And I quilted it with a “Scandi Snowflakes” quilting pattern. The quilt is throw sized (about 58 inches x 65 inches) and super snuggly!

You can enter 2 ways:

Send an e-transfer to [email protected]

Go to www.thekindbarn.ca and click to donate via credit card!

IMPORTANT: If you are sending an e-transfer - make sure you leave your contact information (phone number, email, address, full name I can track down on Facebook, anything)! I just need a way to reach you to tell you if you won!

Thank you all in advance for your love and support! All the animals and I truly appreciate it!!

12/10/2022

So I took a lot of videos and pictures today and my internet will only load so many at a time … so here is Part 1 (of 2 or 3 posts) of Apple’s surprisingly successful enucleation surgery today!

12/09/2022

It’s out! Everything went well! I am so relieved! I will post an update with pics and videos tonight! I am heading to the liquor store right now cause I need a drink first!

12/09/2022

Just a quick note. And an apology for not responding to each and every lovely message and email I get. I’ve been a little overwhelmed and worried this week. I keep having surgery dreams (they all go well … so hopefully that’s a good omen). But once Apple is settled I will take some time to reply to everyone post something official about the Christmas quilt raffle. Thank you all for your support and well wishes and I’ll be in touch soon with an update. Fingers and toes crossed for tomorrow!

12/08/2022

Never a dull moment! Apple came to us essentially blind after years of chronic uveitis (inflammation of the eye). Although she can’t see, as long as her eyes aren’t bothering her the plan was to keep them in her head. Unfortunately, her right eye has been quite painful for the past month and despite me best efforts to treat it medically, it is not responding. So it needs to come out. The problem with Apple is that she is such an anxious and spazzy horse so it is very difficult to sedate her. She fights sedation like a champion and she definitely needs to be super calm and sleepy for a surgery. So I have to scenarios for her:@

1. On Friday the ambulatory vet is coming out to ty to sedate her and remove the eye on farm (holy f**k I hope this works).

2. On Monday we trailer her to another clinic where she can be put under full anesthesia for “proper” surgery on Tuesday.

If this was another horse I wouldn’t be so worried - but Apple is such an anxious horse and so difficult to sedate …. I’m worried we won’t be able to do the surgery on site OR trailer her to the surgical centre. I just can’t wait for this all to be over and for her to be healed! Wish us luck!

PS: I will be having another quilt raffle in the coming days to try to raise money for the surgery. I’m not sure exactly how much it is going to be but I’m estimating $2000-$3000. Merry Christmas!

11/22/2022

A very s**tty week as a veterinarian working in animal rescue. Don’t get into this profession if there is anything else at all you would be happy doing.

10/21/2022

Hi folks! Sorry for the delay in announcing the winners! I tried to post a video of the random wheel/number selector picking numbers … but the video is still trying to upload …. So we will have to make do with pictures!

The winner of the ghost quilt is … #52 - Raluca Andreiev!!!

Now I’ve also made a couple smaller “1 ghost” wall hangings and the winners of those are …. #20 Vanessa Lewis and #45 Koby Hanrahan!

I will be reach out to contact the winners and figure out how to get get you your prizes!

For everyone who participated and donated - THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! We were able to raise $1925 which really helps put a dent into the cost of the row barn! And I actually found out today that the barn is ready early … so it will be arriving on Monday! I’ll post pics (and videos if they’ll load) but I am thrilled!

Yesterday I put Apple’s new rain blanket on her and it took me forever because Billy kept following me around and scaring Apple away. It was such a s**t show and I kept thinking - I can’t wait until I have this barn and then I can either put Billy away so he’ll stop bothering Apple or I can put Apple in a stall and cause Billy won’t be able to bother her in there!

10/11/2022

It’s raffle tine again! And this time it’s for a super spooky yet tastefully adorable Ghost Quilt! And if that isn’t enough … it’s going to be quilted with glow-in-the dark thread so when the light go out… a new image will be revealed! The front is a very chill and modern series of 25 ghosts and the back is a more classic orange Halloween fabric full of scary bad luck iconography (black cats, broken mirrors, ladders, salt shakers).

100% of the proceeds will go to helping me pay for a row barn for the horses. I desperately need this before the winter so that I have somewhere to house a sick horse or separate one for treatments. I’ve put the order in already and paid $4000 towards the $11,466 total … so every entry helps me get closer to providing some safe housing for the old retired gang ponies!

Tickets are $25 each so consider purchasing 1 or 2 or 3! The value of the quilt is about $1500 so it’s a great deal if you can win it for $25!!! The draw will take place in October 20th!

E-transfer to [email protected] or donate via credit card through the website! Thank you a ton for your support and good luck!!!!

07/30/2022

Just some pics of Thor (the feral kitty I’m raising money for). He hates people but but he’s pretty happy playing in his Ikea box and staring out the window with his one remaining eye 🫤

05/21/2022

And the winner of the Quilt Raffle is JOHN MBAKULO! But ... you sent me an e-transfer with no contact information 😟so if you could reach out to me with your address I'll be happy to drop it off or mail it to you!

And the second place winner (for a mini/wall hanging version of the quilt) is Christine Langill! I have your contact information and will be mailing out your quilt early next week!!

Congrats everyone and thank you all for buying tickets and helping support my hairy beasts! I couldn't help them all without your support!

05/14/2022

Apple has uveitis in both eyes (she’s already blind in her right eye ☹️). She’s on daily medication to control the inflammation but I just got her this fancy mask in order to limit her UV light exposure and decrease the chance of further damage. Poor girl she looks like a bug ... but she doesn’t care!

04/23/2022

Hi Guys! I'm having a fundraiser!

I have a couple large purchases to make in the coming months to help out the horses. The main addition is a row barn so that we can separate horses when they need treatments and keep Taz inside during the day (cause the bugs attack her in the summer and she breaks out in hives - poor lady).

Anyhoo - I am an avid quilter and have been busting my ass over the past 2 months making a very NOT old lady quilt for a raffle. It's called the "Tiny Town" Quilt and it is super fun, cozy and colourful and great for kids and adults alike. It would retail for about $1500, but for $20 ... you can buy a ticket to win this awesome heirloom piece!

For a chance to win, e-transfer $20 to [email protected] and don't forget to leave your contact info so I can contact you if you win!

And if you don't want to buy a ticket ... please consider sharing this post so it can reach more people!

Thank you from Taz, Billy, Apple, Chelsea, Silas, Sybil, Edgar and Thor and me!

03/19/2022

The situation in Ukraine is heartbreaking and so many animals have been traumatized. In an attempt to help, I asked my friend Hey Chels to create an image that I could have printed on some stickers. My aim is to raise money for Shelter Ugolyok: Animal Rescue and Farm Sanctuary, Ukraine in Ukraine.

For a $10 donation, I’ll mail you out this beautiful sticker (paper not vinyl and printed using environmentally friendly products!)

Please e-transfer to [email protected] or you can donate directly to them (ugolyok.com.ua/donation/), send me a pic of the donation in addition to your mailing address and I’ll send you your sticker!

03/19/2022

I just adopted Thor in Feb 2022. He’s definitely a feral kitty and is 100% afraid of humans. He was trapped in Quebec and brought to a local rescue where he was neutered and had one eye removed. He’s not doing great just yet, but recently he has started eating wet food mixed in with antibiotics and Prozac, so hopefully those medications will help in the short term – this is progress! Please cross your fingers for poor Thor.

03/19/2022

I got Silas and Sybil as a bonded pair in July 2022. Silas is a young kitty with an autoimmune condition, so he was going to be hard to find a home for because he may require expensive medication and care as he gets older, so I offered to take him and the other kitty he had bonded with, Sybil.

Now Sybil is a beautiful cat, but she does not want to be touched ... like, at all. Over the past 9 months, she has slowly started coming around and letting me pet her (usually around feeding time) but most of the time Sybil likes to hang out independently on her Poang chair or the wooden ledge we built under a big window. Silas on the other hand is the most friendly and relaxed cat I have ever met. He seems to love all other cats and he just has so much love to give! He likes to cuddle with little Edgar and sit by his automatic feeder (haha).

03/19/2022

I got Chelsea in June 2021 after her owner passed away. She was about 17 years old and had lived her whole life in the same house with the same owner. I adopted both her and her brother Bandit (who unfortunately got sick in October and had to be put down).

Chelsea is a very particular cat. She only wants to be touch in certain places and absolutely hates being picked up. Everything is on Chelsea’s terms and that’s fine. I suspect this is partly because she has arthritis and is in pain so I’m working on creating a pain management plan for her ... but she makes things difficult because she is very, very picky with what she will eat!

When I got Chelsea she also had severe dental disease. In September she had a huge dental and had all her teeth removed ... but she still eat like a champ! Chelsea is also in advanced kidney failure so she gets a few medications each day to keep her comfortable (the ones that I can sneak into her food. She spends her days on a heating pad on the couch and her night under my duvet snuggled into my armpit.

03/19/2022

I was working at a cat rescue during the summer when this little guy arrived along with his 4 other litter mates. They were found at a barn and this little one was in particular bad shape. He had the worst case of conjunctivitis that I had ever seen – so bad that I couldn’t actually see his eyeball at all due to all the swollen tissue. The rescue asked me to foster him as he needed eye meds every two hours. I named this fuzzball Edgar and he went everywhere with me for weeks. He spent most of his days at the vet clinic I work at - just exploring the medical storage area and napping on our receptionists lap. Slowly but surely his eye got better, and we all fell in love with him. So I guess it’s no surprise that Edgar is still with me today and an official member of The Kind Barn.

03/19/2022

IN MEMORIAM
This was Leo. He was the horse who started it all. I met Leo in 2014 when I was out doing a routine vaccine appointment at a barn. The owner mentioned that they had this really nice horse, but since he had a limp and couldn’t be ridden, they were sending him to auction. I hate auctions because this is where the kill buyers go to pick up cheap horses and then they sell them for slaughter. Since Leo had a limp and couldn’t be ridden, he was certainly in danger of being purchased by a kill buyer... so I bought him.

Leo was the most curious and playful horse I’ve met. He was always nibbling on my clothes and picking up brushes or anything else he could get his mouth on! He also loved having his front teeth rubbed my the palm of my hand - he was a real weirdo and I loved him for that. Unfortunately, on February 25th, 2022 he severely injured his back leg and was euthanized the following day. We’re all still in shock and trying to figure out how to move on without Leo as he really was the backbone of the herd and the rescue.

03/19/2022

This is Apple (previously known as Patty). We just got Apple in January 2022. Her owner was about 90 years old and broke her shoulder, so she couldn’t take care of her anymore. She had had Apple for about 12 years, but like many horse owners, she was planning on sending Apple to slaughter so she could make a quick $500 – luckily, a neighbour stepped in and contacted us about adopting her.

Apple was very frightened when she arrived and it was clear she was not handled much. They actually had to lasso her to get her on the trailer! She had also been alone for 12 years (this is a big no-no, seeing a horses are herd animals). We’re also pretty sure she’s blind in one eye (not uncommon in light coloured horses). She’s calmed down a lot since she arrived – she knows we all have carrots and apples in our pockets! – but we still need to work with her a little more because my goal is the have the equine ophthalmologist come out in the spring to properly assess her eyes!

03/19/2022

Billy came to me in September of 2019. He was a work horse for the Mennonites for about 22 years and then when he wasn’t of any further use to them, they sold him to a kill buyer. Instead of selling Billy for slaughter, this kill buyer contacted a rescue to see if they wanted to buy Billy instead, and they did. It’s a really sad system because, of course you don’t want to financially support kill buyers... but you also want to rescue the animal, so it’s a rock and a hard place. I adopted Billy from the rescue, and he’s been with me ever since! Billy is a gentle but stubborn fellow – he’s slow moving if he doesn’t want to do something (like get dewormed or have eye meds put in his eye) so he just slowly lifts his head and walks away! No drama, cause he knows you can’t reach his head!

03/19/2022

I met Taz in 2015. Her owner had stopped paying her board and changed his phone number, essentially abandoning her at the barn. I was contacted because the barn owner could not afford to pay for her anymore and needed to either euthanize her or find her a new home. Obviously I didn’t euthanize her, and instead she’s been with me since October 2015. Taz is curious and kind. She loves scratches along her neck and chest and is the most expressive horse I’ve ever met! Her ears seem to be directly connected to her heart ... so she really wears her emotions on her sleeve. You always know what Taz is thinking!

03/19/2022

Hi folks! My name is Malgosia and I am a veterinarian in Ottawa. This past year I sold my house in downtown Ottawa and moved out to Smiths Falls to start an animal sanctuary. I’m so, so excited to finally start growing this little home for animals in need in our community!

Address

Smiths Falls, ON
K7A4S7

Website

http://www.thekindbarn.ca/

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Never a dull moment! Apple came to us essentially blind after years of chronic uveitis (inflammation of the eye). Although she can’t see, as long as her eyes aren’t bothering her the plan was to keep them in her head. Unfortunately, her right eye has been quite painful for the past month and despite me best efforts to treat it medically, it is not responding. So it needs to come out. The problem with Apple is that she is such an anxious and spazzy horse so it is very difficult to sedate her. She fights sedation like a champion and she definitely needs to be super calm and sleepy for a surgery. So I have to scenarios for her:@ 1. On Friday the ambulatory vet is coming out to ty to sedate her and remove the eye on farm (holy f**k I hope this works). 2. On Monday we trailer her to another clinic where she can be put under full anesthesia for “proper” surgery on Tuesday. If this was another horse I wouldn’t be so worried - but Apple is such an anxious horse and so difficult to sedate …. I’m worried we won’t be able to do the surgery on site OR trailer her to the surgical centre. I just can’t wait for this all to be over and for her to be healed! Wish us luck! PS: I will be having another quilt raffle in the coming days to try to raise money for the surgery. I’m not sure exactly how much it is going to be but I’m estimating $2000-$3000. Merry Christmas!

A very sh*tty week as a veterinarian working in animal rescue. Don’t get into this profession if there is anything else at all you would be happy doing.