$900 (1-time annual or $75 per month)

Your monthly donation provides medical care, hay and grain and warmth for one month for the your large animal.

Donate

Benefits:

• Beautiful photo of adopted animal
• Animal Adoption Certificate including your animal’s story
• Listing on the AATPC website as part of the Large Animal Adoptive Family
• Monthly email of your animal’s therapy contribution
• Private tour of our facility and the opportunity to meet your sponsored animal, and all our other therapy animals (up to 1 hour & 6 people)

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Misty is the queen of the paddock. She was born around 1998 and is a miniature mare. She originally came to AATPC with her half-brother Stormy who passed away in 2016. For a small horse Misty has a lot of personality! She definitely knows her mind and will let you know how she feels. Misty can be a very sweet horse and she can also be very independent.

There are many times that Misty chooses to work with clients and sometimes she needs her time alone. Just like all our animals, we respect Misty's right to choose when and how to engage with humans. This is an important lesson for our clients, many of whom are learning about health relationships with the help of our animals. 

Thank You to Misty's Sponsors

Kathryn & Joe Seehusen, Colorado Home Realty since June 2021

Hawk grew up with a lot of interaction with children and adults and so is very calm and easy-going. He readily goes to people to receive scratches and pets and especially loves to have his rump pet!. He and Misty are already very close friends and he is extremely protective of her. If she is lead away and out of sight Hawk becomes very upset and vocal and Misty wants to come right back to be near him. We adopted Hawk in October 2018 from Equine Angels of the Rockies. Hawk was born in 2016 to a mother who was rescued off a feed truck. She had been very thin and ill when they rescued her, and also pregnant. Hawk's mother still lives at the rescue. 

Watching the relationship between Misty and Hawk is very helpful for clients. In some ways they demonstrate signs of care and concern and attachment. But there are also aspects of codependency that clients can see. Helping the horses to be independent and confidant both in relationships and on their own helps the humans see how important this is for themselves as well. There is also a BIG age difference between the two as well as breed differences. Exploring how the horses go beyond these differences to relate together also provides good role-modeling in how to accept differences in each other. 

Thank You to Hawk's Sponsors

Faith, Isak and Bob Leitel since May 2019
Christy Brown since April 2022

Batman (mini horse)

Batman is our newest addition. Batman was born around 2006. He was originally rescued (we don't know that story) and has lived with at least two different owners since then. His latest owner hoped that Batman could be in a place where he had more human interaction as he had formerly enjoyed going to the local high schools and visiting with special education students.

Batman is only 33" tall at the withers. He is even smaller than Misty. Even though he is small his previous owner said that he wants to be the lead horse. We see his confidence and self-assurance and is making fast friends with Misty and Hawk. Even the alpacas seem to like Batman!

Batman is a very calm and easy-going horse. He will be our starter horse for clients who have no horse-experience. We are excited to get to learn more about his personality and strengths as a therapy horse.

Thank You to Batman's Sponsors

Linda Smith since September 2021, in honor of therapy horses Frank and Dollar

Kuzco is much more shy and nervous and watches Kronk for his cues. He is very vocal and makes little alpaca mewing sounds. Alpaca's are like cats in the way that they learn to trust people. They are independent and curious, but also very cautious. They want to know the people around them are trustworthy.

Kuzco is an excellent teach to our clients in how to respect boundaries and recognize nonverbal communication. Our clients with anxiety and PTSD relate to Kuzco since they are also highly nervous and vigilant about what is around them. The clients learn to manage their own emotions as a way to help calm Kuzco - if they are as nervous as he is he will stay away from them. 

Working with Kuzco is an excellent example of the neuroscience  "bottom up" work that is recognized as more effective with clients with trauma and attachment issues. Because the work engages the body first (before the brain) the client does not go into the "freeze" mode that is typical of clients with early negative experiences. Their body is actually learning to respond differently to the world around them first, and when they see and feel success, their mind catches up to make these conscious choices again in the future.

Thank You to Kuzco's Sponsors

Wana Wellness since August 2021

Kronk (Suri alpaca)

Kronk (originally Davos) and Kusco (originally John Snow) were born at Espiritu Alpacas in November 2017. Although they are not related they were born within days of each other. Both of their mothers were part of the original herd of 22 alpacas that Pamela rescued in 2012 when she found them at a location no larger than a suburban driveway, with a cardboard shelter and no veterinary care for years.

A group of 7 had been purchased and then allowed to interbreed over and over, resulting in genetic issues that caused physical deformity and early death.  The first year they had seven babies, all born prematurely due to genetic issues.  Because of this (and the fact that they are a rescue!) they had refused to allow breeding...until one winter day when they had a mountain lion attack, and needed to move all of the boys in with the girls.  And then....one year later, they had babies, but fortunately healthy ones this time!  So, Davos and Snow are the result of that 'safety measure' that allowed for a night of breeding!!

Kronk is by far the more friendly and confident of the two Alpacas. He is already allowing people to pet his neck and give his soft fur scratches. He loves to walk around the pasture on his leash and roll around in the scratchy plants. Kronk also really likes his gums rubbed! 

Thank You to Kronk's Sponsors

Raynette Garcia since September 2020
Chelsea & Aaron Kettering since May 2022

Wally (Nubian goat)

We adopted Wall from a kind family who no longer had time for their goats and wanted them to have a more fulfilling life. With his sister Lilly, Wally moved to the Barking C.A.A.T. Ranch in September 2018. They were born in 2015.

Wally is a very large goat with a very large personality! He is super friendly and comes to meet everyone with a goat smile and friendly bump. He is very gentle but loves to goat wrestle with his sister and play push-over with the staff. He and Lilly are very close and stay together throughout the day. You can tell that Wally loves his new life here at the Ranch as he is quick to make new friends. 

Thank You to Wally's Sponsors

Janel La Conte since May 2021

Lilly (Nubian goat)

Lilly is Wally's sister and she is much smaller than him, but a lot bigger than our pygmy's! Lilly is a handful - she is rambunctious and playful, and still a little too rough for our young clients to interact much with her. She is usually very sweet and loves to be pet and brushed. But she also likes to kiss HARD which unfortunately hurts. So until we can curb these behaviors Lilly will be observed by clients more than interacted with. 

Thank You to Lilly's Sponsors

Caitlin Peerson since April 2021

Dahlia (Pygmy goat)

Dahlia is also a purebred Pygmy goat. She was born 2 weeks after Duncan on 2/26/2011 and has lived with him since that time. We have raised Dahlia since she was just a kid and loves people more than other goats. She is house-trained and would much prefer the office to the goat pen - her only problem is that she loves to eat the paper. 

Dahlia is a very calm and sweet girl who loves attention and is happy to be kissed and hugged. She is also a nibbler of fingers and toes and clothing but then looks so innocent it's hard to be mad at her. Dahlia is very outgoing and enjoys being with children and adults, and even loves to play in groups of children. Dahlia also works with each of the therapists at AATPC and is around most days to interact with the clients.

While Dahlia is one of our most easy-going animals, she HATES having her feet wet or cold. She will gladly run inside to avoid the rain or snow and will tell anyone near-by about how irritated she is about it. 

Thank You to Dahlia's Sponsors

Dahlia is currently looking for a sponsor!

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