7/28/2019 Isis Feature Story

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Feature Story:Isis

Headed by life-long animal advocate Lee Sackett, CJ Acres Animal Rescue Farm is a 100

percent volunteer-ran farm that saves all varieties of farm animals from abandonment, abusiveowners and natural disasters. Showered in human compassion for the first time, each animal inthis pocket utopia has its own name, personality and inspiring story. Perhaps no other animalembodies the hope this sanctuary brings to its troubled tenants more than the mustang mare, Isis.

An equestrian beauty, Isis bluish-brown coat compliments her majestic stride and queen-like posture. Her story begins several years ago at another animal sanctuary with horse enthusiastand philanthropist Larry Jones, owner of the L.B. Ranch in Myakka City, Fla. Jones used hisproperty to house horses he bought from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in order toplace them with appropriate care-takers. BLM, which is in charge of wild horses and burros,corrals herds via helicopter and sells them at extremely cheap prices, sometimes inadvertently to

notorious meat merchants known as kill-buyers. The kill-buyers sell the animals as food in othercountries, or they find buyers in the U.S. black market who are willing to pay up to $40 perpound. It was this horrible situation from which Jones rescued Isis and hundreds of othermustangs like her.

This peace did not last, however. Jones died in 2008, and his property was willed to hisson, who Jones believed to share his passion. But this was not the case. The responsibility ofproviding for so many animals proved too much for the son and he quickly attempted to ridhimself of the horses. Labeled an exotic species by Florida authorities, the herd remained on therun for two years until 15 of them Isis included were lured by food into a pen after a five-month pursuit.

After their capture, Isis and several other mares were scheduled to be sent to CJ Acres,since the farm had volunteered to house them. But once again, things did not go Isis way. Thesheriff of Okeechobee County instead enacted Florida statute 588.17 in an attempt to regainseveral thousand dollars of county funds which had been spent capturing the horses. The lawdictates that if no one claims impounded livestock after three days, they are to be sold at auction,as was the case with Isis. CJ Acres scrambled into action with a coalition of other like-mindedcharities raising around $3,000 for bidding purposes. Six potential kill-buyers attended theauction, but thanks to some superior bidding skills on part of Lee Sackett, the coalition managedto spend only a fraction of their budget on the now labeled Miracle Mustangs.

But this is not where the magic ends. Isis at the time was pregnant, and on Feb. 2, 2011,she gave birth to Miakoda, whose Native American name means power of the moon. Isisstory embodies the true importance of CJ Acres and other animal rescue farms to theirbeneficiaries. They give hope to creatures that would otherwise be abandoned or killed. Isis andMiakoda are not merely horses; they are a notion that brings compassion and hope into asometimes cold and cruel world.