Friday, February 17th, 2017

Emma is feeling better this evening. I was concerned about her yesterday as she refused her breakfast and didn’t lay down for a nap which was quite unusual as she generally does so a few times throughout the day. She ate some of her lunch and all of her dinner. Then the coughing began. Her temperature was normal and she was drinking normally. When her  bandages were changed yesterday, she wasn’t as cooperative as she normally is – I think she may have been uncomfortable. Perhaps she had strained her knee in the early morning hours.

Last night, Emma didn’t lay down. This morning, she ate breakfast and later laid down for a nap. And nap she did – she snored!  It made me feel better. The way she was laying looked quite uncomfortable to me, but when she awoke, she looked so much better.

The way she was laying looked quite uncomfortable to me, but when she awoke, she looked so much better.

Emma coughed approximately four times throughout the day. She ate her lunch and dinner. Tonight, as I was taking Cookie out of the barn, I saw Emma from the corner of my eye, two hooves in the air – she looked like she was doing the “Hi Ho Silver” move! I kept walking and as I got halfway to the gate to turn out Cookie, I heard a big bang. Then I heard the sound of rushing water! Emma kicked the wall hard enough to break a water pipe! I couldn’t help but smile – she’s feeling better! But then I thought, “Oh gosh, she could have hurt herself!” She, thankfully, seems fine and her appetite is great tonight.

Emma drooled more today than usual due to facial nerve paralysis. Time will tell how this resolves. Here is a excerpt (quote) from her hospital report:

“The facial nerve might get better with time but it is unknown. I removed a bullet fragment close to the nerve in the hope that it will help. The nerve paralysis is secondary to damage done to the nerve by the bullet.” There are multiple bullet fragments and debris embedded in soft tissue structures in different areas of her body. It may do more harm than good trying to remove them.”

The reward funds for information leading to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the person(s) responsible for shooting Emma are now up to $7000. We are so very grateful to the HSUS as well as to Diane and Kathy for assisting us with this. Please share this news in hope that justice will be served.

We are very grateful to the Levy County Sheriff’s Office. Deputy Wells (AG Deputy) has been out a couple of times to check on Emma. It’s quite unusual to get this kind of support, but now that the county has an AG Deputy, I do believe support for horses and livestock has taken a turn for the better! Deputy Wells really cares and I’m looking forward to working with him on future cases, albeit I wish there were none. The County is very limited in resources when it comes to abuse/neglect cases, but with help from the community, perhaps we can help to change that!

#justiceforfillyemma #rewardoffered #hsus #bhfer #lcso