Operators of Horse Rescue Seek Help Staying Afloat

The operators of a Temecula sanctuary for abandoned and abused horses, along with a host of other animals, are scrambling to raise funds needed to keep the operation going at a new location.

Donations of any amount are being sought from the public to cover a range of expenses.

“We have to succeed,” said Louise Gardner, co-founder of Villa Chardonnay Equine and Animal Sanctuary. “We cannot separate best friends and family members. Many of the animals have come together, and we cannot break up their home.”

Gardner and her partner, Monika Kerber, have rescued more than 200 animals, many with serious ailments, and have a “long” waiting list of four- legged creatures that other nonprofit organizations want to place at Villa Chardonnay, she told City News Service.

The two women have run the rescue ranch on Calle Barbona, which they describe as the largest of its kind in Southern California, for the last seven years. Earlier this year, they were informed that the landlord wanted to put the property on the selling block, giving the lessees until Sept. 30 to relocate.

Gardner said efforts to negotiate a purchase did not come to fruition, leaving the operators with no alternative but to vacate.

The women have since found a larger facility in San Diego County that would serve as an ideal “safe haven” for their 132 horses, eight donkeys, three goats, 14 dogs, countless cats and three turkeys, according to Gardner.

Money is needed to finalize the purchase, cover moving expenses, take down existing structures at the current sanctuary and erect new ones at the other site. The charity’s fundraising goal is $375,000, Gardner said.

“Help us protect them all. We have committed the rest of our lives to them,” Kerber said.

“Each one is unique and has special needs. We are urgently reaching out to animal lovers for help in raising funds,” she said. “We are reaching out to all animal lovers, leaders in Southern California and the LGBT community for support and partnership.”

Supporters of Villa Chardonnay -- named after the first horse the women rescued from a slaughterhouse -- include the Humane Society of the Desert, the ASPCA, the Bob Barker Foundation and the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians.

Donations can be made via the rescue’s website, villachardonnay.org, or mailed to Horses with Wings Inc., 42200 Calle Barbona, Temecula, 92592. All donations are tax-deductible.

--City News Service, photo via Villa Chardonnay Equine