December
2009
Dearest Friends and Partners,
Here is some great news! Crossroads
Ranch was blessed with 2 of the TPD horses. Here is
the Tulsa World Article:
Tulsa police horses find
new homes
By P.J. LASSEK World Staff Writer
Published: 12/29/2009 12:01 PM
Eight horses that made up the Tulsa Police Department’s
now-disbanded mounted patrol unit have found new homes,
spread out among five nonprofit agencies involved
with therapeutic equestrian programs for adults and
children.
“These horses are members of an elite group
who have served with distinction since the early 1980s,”
TPD Deputy Chief Dennis Larsen said Tuesday at the
police barn during a news conference to announce the
adoptions.
The Tulsa Community Foundation’s Horse Adoption
Committee played a pivotal role in ensuring the horses
found the best possible homes, he said.
“They will be well cared for and do what they
do best: serve the community of northeastern Oklahoma,”
Larsen said.
The horses are Willie, Jack, Otis, Buddy, Ned, Amigo,
Bob and Roscoe.
The selected adopting agencies went through a lengthy
screening process to ensure that they would provide
the horses with good homes, said Tami Wagman, committee
chairwoman.
The horses also will be monitored for the rest of
their lives, she said.
The adopting agencies include Angel Horse Rescue,
Loving Hearts Ministry-Crossroads Cowboy Camp, Bit
by Bit, Cookson Hills Christian Ministries and Quiet
Heart Equine Center.
Steve Dobbs, CEO of Hillcrest Medical Center, said
a Tulsa World article breaking the news that the mounted
patrol was being disbanded due to budget cuts triggered
action to find a positive outcome for the horses.
“It just tugged at my heart,” Dobbs said
about reading the article.
“I said, 'We need to do something
about this,’ and
placed a call to (former) Mayor (Kathy) Taylor and
in a couple of hours this was well in motion,”
he said.
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A donation
from the Hillcrest Foundation to the Tulsa Community
Foundation made the adoption effort possible, Wagman
said.
Dobbs said that when another article appeared about
Hillcrest getting involved, “my phone was ringing
off the hook.”
Larsen said the horses and the officers who rode
them “have proven themselves to be true ambassadors
for our department and the city of Tulsa.”
“You would see them at Mayfest, at the Tulsa
Run, down at Veterans Park and throughout our city
in the neighborhoods, and even most recently at major
events at the BOK Center,” he said.
He said the department’s finest ambassadors
“are leaving us to devote even more time and
years of services to friends throughout the Tulsa
community.”
Wagman said it was “bitter-sweet” when
the committee members came out to the Tulsa Police
Horse Barn at 6066 E. 66th St. North and saw how well
the horses are kept.
“We hope that some day the (city) will be able
to re-initiate” the mounted patrol, she said.
In the small crowd of adults gathered at the barn
Tuesday were 10-year-old Ben and 7-year-old Dillon
Wagman, dressed in Western wear and cowboy hats.
“I think this is very good,” Ben said.
“I’m glad they are going for the causes
and not the slaughterhouse.”
The Zarrow, Oxley and Hille foundations each donated
funds that will provide $1,000 to each agency to aid
each horse’s care.
Taylor announced in October that the mounted patrol
unit would be disbanded as one of several measures
to cut $6 million from the city’s budget due
to plummeting revenue.
Disbanding the mounted patrol saved $51,000 this
fiscal year.
By P.J. LASSEK World Staff Writer
Thank you so much
for your prayers as Loving Hearts Ministry continues
to grow and change people's lives around the world.
Every life we touch, YOU have a part in!
In His love and ours,
Dove
and all of us at Loving Hearts Ministry
We Love You!
Dove, and the
rest of us at Loving Hearts
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