UNION, Mo. — “It was dark, it was at night, it was raining and it was cold," Amanda Mullen, the director of Long Meadow Rescue Ranch in Union, says describing the night she met Journey.
The older bay mare was on her way to slaughter when the tractor trailer she was in overturned on I-44. “It’s heartbreaking," Mullen sighs, "you can hear the horses struggling in the trailer, you want to get to them as fast as you can and save as many as you can.”
Even though there were many capable hands at the crash site, Journey actually saved herself. She busted free when the trailer toppled over and ran down the road. Her Journey is how she got the name "Journey".
Rescuers caught up with her and brought her back to Long Meadow Rescue Ranch in Union. “She was very reserved when she first got here," Mullen tells Show Me St. Louis, "We could definitely tell she had been handled before, she had some training, she had good manners, but she also was very standoff-ish."
Mullen believes whatever path Journey took to end up in the slaughter-house destined trailer, "she didn’t have a lot of kind people handling her or showing her affection.”
After watching her behavior, the staff at Long Meadow suspected Journey might be carrying a baby. Veterinarians came out, ultra sounded her and sure enough...positive! They believe she is due in September or October, but because Journey was pregnant before the I-44 crash, vets cannot pinpoint a date.
The team at Long Meadow Rescue Ranch is hoping their hours of caring for Journey will translate to a comfortable delivery, “You can tell her confidence in us has grown a lot, so we’re hoping that time we’ve had to bond with her will mean she’ll be much more comfortable and have a more successful delivery.”
Journey is not available to adoption yet, but you can spend time with her online. During the day, a camera live streams the mom-to-be.
Long Meadow Rescue Ranch is looking for donations for Journey and her baby's veterinary care.