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Horse rescue clinic fulfills lifelong dream
Sat, Feb 4, 2006
By LAUREN McCALLISTER The Brunswick NewsDave and Sherry Perry were looking for a place to establish a horse rescue clinic, but settling on Blythe Island wasn't the couple's first choice. Although they'd uprooted their family countless times due to Dave Perry's position in the U.S. Navy, the family had never even heard of Brunswick, let alone considered retiring here.That is until last March, when Dave Perry found himself traveling north on Interstate 95 from Jacksonville to view a house that was for rent on Blythe Island."I almost turned around several times on the way up," he said. But perhaps it was fate that kept pushing him because, as soon as he saw the property's pastures, stables and view of the Turtle River, Dave Perry knew that this was exactly the type of facility his wife had been dreaming about.Triple L Horse Rescue – the three Ls stand for love, life and luck – was conceived out of Sherry Perry's lifelong dream to open a horse clinic."I've always wanted to do this because I grew up around horses," she said. "And there are too many horses that aren't being taken care of. The horses can't speak for themselves, and people don't realize how much time, work and money it takes to raise them."The Perrys took in their first horse, Jocko, a 35-year-old Shetland Welsh Pony, last September. Jocko's previous owners dropped him off at Triple L, Sherry Perry thinks, because they could no longer care for him. To date, Jocko is the only horse the Perry's have rescued, although their facilities have the capacity to hold more than 10 horses at a time.The rescue farm is designed to take horses who are unwanted, abused or neglected or whose owners simply can't afford to take care of them anymore. If possible, the horses will be rehabilitated and placed in adoptive homes. Other horses, like Jocko, will live out the rest of their days at Triple L.Currently, the couple is soliciting donations to help obtain non-profit status for the farm, an application process that costs $650. "Once we can get nonprofit status, we can apply for grants," Sherry Perry explained.Once the application is processed, which they hope to have ready by summer, the Perrys will partner with Cowboys and Roses Renegade Ranch Inc., a therapeutic riding center for children located in Brunswick, to raise money to improve Triple L Horse Rescue's facilities and gather more supplies.Janet Carswell, president of Cowboys and Roses, said a rescue clinic like Triple L is long overdue."I think (Triple L) is wonderful, and I'm so glad that they're doing it," she said. "There is no rescue facility in Glynn County, and there are more horses that need rescuing here than there are people to rescue them."Sherry Perry's only cause for complaint is that the start-up process has been a rather slow one."Of course, everything doesn't happen overnight, but I wish it would," she said.But regardless of the lag time, Dave Perry is excited that his wife's dream is finally being realized."This is what she's been wanting to do for 20 years," Dave Perry said. "It's great to see her this happy."
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