About Us

 

Linn County Animal Rescue was incorporated in the state of Oregon as a 501(c)3 not for profit organization in 2008.

The organization is administered by a volunteer board of directors, and all operations are handled by volunteers.

Our mission:

• to provide a safe and nurturing environment for abused, abandoned, neglected and elderly horses,
• to work with the public to educate and help caring individuals keep their equine friends,
• to find all of our rehabilitated horses healthy, happy forever homes.

We are primarily an equine rescue and sanctuary. Most of our rescues come from Sheriff’s Office seizures. We have a few voluntarily surrendered horses; our board makes the decision about accepting voluntary surrenders on a case-by-case basis. We may accept other large animals who are part of a seizure if there is space and they are determined to fit in with the animals at our facility.

Because we are a rescue / sanctuary, some horses are up for adoption and so will stay at the facility for the rest of their lives.  Some  horses are not adoptable because of their special needs or they are part of our rescued horses Give Back Educational Program.

We DO NOT seize horses. We house and care for them for the Sheriff’s Office after they conduct a seizure.

We DO NOT choose what horses are seized. The Sheriff’s Office implements the seizure and we house the animals that they seize. No matter the age, sex or breed, we will accept them all. That is what we are here for.

The Sheriff’s Office handles all the legal work, warrants and investigations. We just TAKE CARE of the horses.

All public horse complaints must go through the Sheriff’s Office. NO member of LCAR can confront horse owners or conduct their own investigation.

We DO NOT have any paid staff; we are staffed 100% by volunteers.

We Do NOT receive funding from the Linn County Sheriff’s Office or any Federal or State agency. Our funding comes from adoption fees, donations from individuals and groups, and grants. All of these funds are used to care for the horses.

LCAR has several programs: Scarlett’s Friends ongoing support program, Hug A Horse sponsorship program, adoption, foster homes, and a rescued horses Give Back Educational Program.

We operate in more than one location, so any donated items can be used at various locations. All locations are open for visits by appointment only.

We have been inspected by the Summerlee Foundation, The Humane Society, Habitat for Horses and the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries.

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How It All Began

Buck’s Story

Well, howdy!!

My name is Buck. I am a Quarter Horse gelding. I guess you could say that Linn County Animal Rescue (LCAR) is all my doing. At least, I’m the one that got this whole thing started.

I met my owner, the future founder of LCAR, when I was just 2 years old, about 17 years ago.I had been treated horribly by an unpleasant man. I was so scared that I ran through a fence trying to get away, and cut myself up really badly. That man used a rope to catch me, then he didn’t even doctor my wounds. That left me with scars on my chest and legs. Luckily, my previous owner found out about this and took me back. Then she advertised me for sale, and along came Cindy who bought me on the spot.

When I met my new owner, she was just 14 years old. I don’t know why her family bought me, ’cause goodness, I was an awful mess. But I thank God that they did.

Back then I was terribly afraid of everything. Even to this day, I’m afraid a lot, especially of men. My fear made it possible for me to hurt myself a lot. But for some reason, that little girl loved me unconditionally, and with her and her family’s support, they managed to get me healed up. The little girl worked with me every day until I got better. I’m talkin’ physically, mentally and emotionally.

Now I’m 19 years old and have done a lot of things since those first days. I have been on drill teams, barreled raced at rodeos, walked in parades, helped out with parking and security duty, and trail riding.

For as long as I can remember, my owner has brought home animals that for various reasons, needed a place to stay. But the need for caring for rescued animals has moved along much faster since we joined forces with the Linn County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO). Styler does all the work on that now.

The LCSO asked individuals at an LCSO Mounted Posse meeting for foster support for abused equine (that’s horses to us). Fortunately, my owner was able to foster some of these animals. At first, she said she could only take one or two. The first one was a P.O.A. named Sadie. (See her story in Successes!)  Then later we helped Toby. (You can see his beautiful self in the Adopt section.)

Then things really took off!

The LCSO needed more and more help with equine rescues. When Tim Mueller became the Linn County Sheriff, he created the Linn County Livestock Investigation Team (LCLIT). My owner is also a part of LCLIT.

So, as busy as things were getting for us all, and with the encouragement and support of the LCSO, we decided to set up the rescue organization that is now Linn County Animal Rescue (LCAR). This has allowed us to help many more horses and other animals.

Now, I hope you’ll check out the other pages of this website and read the stories of all the other brave equine. And please, notice the “Donate” bale of hay on the top left of each page so you can help keep us in hay throughout the year. This way, you too can be a part of wonderful success stories, like that of my owner and me.

Thank you for your support!

Buck

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Styler’s Story

Hey Dudes!!

My name is Styler and I am a buffed out Paint guy. My partner in crime, Cindy, is the founder of Linn County Animal Rescue. She completely depends on my help all the time. I am always excited to meet new bros (horses, donkeys, whatever) coming to live with us because I get to show the around and strut my stuff for the ladies. One of the most VERY important things I do is to show them that they no longer have to be afraid. All the awesome peoples who help and visit here are kind, loving (and sometimes bring treats). By being buddies to the new kids, I can teach them that people really can be family.

I do things like go pick up my new buddies at their old homes. I go to vet appointments with them so they have a compadre to ride with them in the trailer. I hang out in the pen to let them know that is is OKAY to have that funny thing (halter) on their head. Just being there brings a calming presence when they are being work with.

In addition to my counseling duties at LCAR, I’m also a member of the Linn County Sheriff’s Office Mounted Posse (LCSMP). I help out the Linn County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) Search & Rescue (SAR) team by taking my partner out in the vast forest to search for lost or injured people, most of the time, packing all the peoples’ stuff in and out. I also get to hand with the LCSO Livestock Investigation Team, working with my partner to help rescue horses and other animals that are living in abusive and neglectful homes.

As part of my Posse activities, I do security duty with my partner at local events, mostly at the fairgrounds, to keep the good times going. We also help with the herding of people (aka crowd control) and parking cars at special events in Linn County communities. We have a groovy time at these different events. One of my fav community services is the Rides for Special Needs Children. I absolutely love to do this because the children are so happy to see me and their smiles make me want to really strut my stuff.

<– See, here I am with my buddy, Linn County Sheriff, Tim Mueller. Cool, huh?

So, with ALL the things that I do, my greatest hope is to help my new buds that come stay with us to find new, permanent, loving homes with people who will take them in and make them part of their family. There is nothing better than seeing that happen. All of us at LCAR really appreciate your support in our efforts to help more horses and more people.

Best to you,

Styler

P.S.   Remember – it’s easier than ever to help all my buds.

Just click “Donate” on the bale of hay above left, to use your credit card or PayPal account.

And if you really want to help, become one of Scarlett’s Friends and help keep us in hay each and every month!

And don’t forget, all donations are tax deductible.

PO Box 2669  Lebanon, OR 97355 · 541-258-3422 · LinnCountyAnimalRescue@yahoo.com