Saturday, May 24, 2014

Rob Ford and the Lost Animals of Far Enough Farm



Well although he personally believes that crack addicts should be jailed not pampered, I see Rob Ford is finally in rehab.

His monstrous Fordzillamobile is in the pound.

Earlier this week, Ford's Cadillac Escalade was impounded after a 36-year-old woman, Lee Anne McRobb, was charged with impaired driving in Bracebridge while behind the wheel of the vehicle.

And no doubt that "man of the people" is suffering terribly. 

Or not.

But of course the real victims are the people of Toronto, who have had to put up with the depraved behaviour of that brutish bigoted bully for so long. The people of Canada, who he embarrassed in the eyes of the world.

And in my little world, some of the humble animals at Far Enough Farm...



I've written about this beautiful little place before. 

And how Ford tried to close it down, for no good reason.

And how I was worried about what might happen to the older animals, like Boot the magnificent retired police horse...



Or my absolute favourite, the old donkey Jake...



Who was an amazing character, totally adorable, and probably the farm's most popular animal...



He made me laugh with his comic book antics, helped me forget that I live in brutish Harperland.

And helped me recover from the shattering loss of this old friend...



I also told you how the farm was saved at the last moment, when the city foisted it onto the owners of a small vintage amusement park next to it, in return for extending its lease.

And I was happy with the way things had worked out, until I returned a couple of weeks ago, and found the place looking strangely empty...



And then I saw this...



All the horses and donkeys had been "retired" to this place. 

The people at the farm say the animals were old, and since there is nobody at the place at night, there would be nobody to care for them if they got ill. So it was better for them to be sent somewhere else.

Or maybe they just shipped them off because it was cheaper to run the place without them. And some things about Hagersville make me fear the worst.

So although I am grateful they saved the little farm, so the poor people of the city could visit it with their kids, I can't help feeling that something isn't right. When you commit to taking care of an animal it should be for life.

An old donkey like Jake should have been allowed to spend his last days in the place that was his home for almost thirty years...



And I blame Rob Ford for what has happened. A man who never could do the right or decent thing.

And I'll always miss Boot, Willow, Blueberry Muffin, Cecelia.

And my old friend Jake...



You know, they told me that Jake was abused as a young animal before he was brought to the farm. And he never really lost his distrust of humans.

He was friendly but wary.

And as magnificently stoic and stubborn as only a donkey can be...



But I understood that. And of course he was right.

Humans can be beasts. And it is a cruel world.

And really what more can I say eh?

Except that you can NEVER put lipstick on a Con hog.

And when can we FINALLY retire this one?



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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

How sad that they had to be moved! I hope they will be well taken care of! They must have felt so lost at first. I hope they are getting used to their new home. Too many people don't realize that animals have feelings! Thank you so much for posting this. I had never heard of this farm! It must have been a wonderful place to visit! I became a vegan last year after watching a video on the abuse of farm animals. After watching the horror of what these animals go through, I knew that I would never again be able to eat them. I pray for abused farm animals every day in the hope that one day, the way they are forced to live will be changed and that their handlers will be closely monitored. Too many psychopaths are hired to look after them. I hope that one day they will be screened before being hired.

Simon said...

hi anon...I hate to imagine for the Far Enough Farm animals feel about being removed from their idyllic surroundings and taken to a place for abused horses, even though they aren't abused, and most of them aren't horses. And you're right, too many people don't think of animals as having feelings. One of the things I like about Far Enough Farm is that it's a great place for parents to teach their kids to respect some of the other creatures that share this earth with us. If you ever visit Toronto, you should definitely visit the farm, because it is a beautiful place...

deb said...

glad the farm is still open, but not sure why they had to move the retired animals. sad! We need the ford family put out to pasture and retired.

e.a.f. said...

Rob Ford maybe a sick puppy, but the people who voted for him and continue to support him are his co-dependents and enablers. They're all sick. Must have made his wife wonder how another woman got to drive her husband's vehicle.

Ah, well if the continue to vote for people like Ford, they deserve him. For those who didn't vote, they deserve him also. Of course those who didn't vote for him and voted, they have my sympathy.

Simon said...

hi deb...I'm afraid the real reason they moved the animals is because it's cheaper to run the farm without them. Even though the animals help attract about a million visitors to the Island every year, and one long weekend of ferry fares ($7 a ticket) would more than pay for the farm. But the islands are the cottage country of the city's poorer people and their kids. Ford doesn't give a damn about anyone who doesn't live in the weather suburbs, and I very much doubt if he had ever visited the place because he's a millionaire, and you can't drive there. And as a person who loves animals, especially older ones, I am heartbroken, and will work even harder to defeat the crass bully Ford in the next election...

Simon said...

hi e.a.f...please don't get me going on the so-called Ford Nation, because it makes me turn bright red and is very bad for my blood pressure. I can understand how people might have been foolish enough to vote him into office. But what I can't accept is that after all he has done so many still support him. The good news is that his polls are tanking, and that many of his remaining supporters are not the kind of people who turn out to vote. So I am hopeful that this nightmare will soon be over. And don't forget the police are still investigating him, and if they ever lay charges Ford will be forced to resign, and his sordid career will finally be over. In fact at this point the question is whether his brutish brother Doug will run instead of Rob. But fortunately he's even less popular...