Local animal rescue seeking support after fire

A local rescue in Loving is looking to the community for support after a fire destroyed hay, supplies and more this week.

Jessica Moreland, who runs the nonprofit Red Orchard Animal Rescue (ROAR) Foundation on Steadham Street in Loving, said the rescue was struggling due to dwindling donations. 

After a fundraiser allowed the organization to purchase a large load of hay, a fire broke out early Monday, Dec. 30 and spread to a mobile home on the property.

“All of the hay is gone. It set our house on fire. It destroyed the mobile home. Everything’s doused in water and covered glass. One of the rooms is where we kept all the animal supplies – our horse blanket, all their medications (was impacted),” Moreland said. “They do think the fire started on the outside where the hay was, and hay can spontaneously combust if it gets wet on the inside (because) it starts to grow fungus.”

The rescue currently has 28 horses, 18 donkeys, three cows, one chicken and a dog on the 109-acre property. Moreland said right now they are in desperate need of hay for the horses.

“Hay is a big, big thing for us right now. We have some bails out for them now, but we put the rest away,” she said. “(We need) horse blankets. We don’t blanket everything we have because, like I said, they are wild horses, but we do have a few (that use them).”

Along with hay, the organization is looking for feed, foal milk, pellets and medications for the animals. The ROAR Facebook page has an Amazon wish list which will be updated with medications and supplies needed by the organization.

Moreland said after closing on the property and moving officially in September, her dream of opening an animal rescue was becoming a reality.

“Our formation date was officially May of 2023. I’ve been involved in rescue for a long time. I worked animal control for the city of Fort Worth for several years,” she said. “I moved away, but we had the opportunity to move back to be around family, so I chose that, and then chose to start the rescue.”

The rescue helps animals such as horses, donkeys, dogs and cats. The rescue focuses most of its attention on wild mustangs.

“They get dumped at auction houses and they’re bought by kill buyers to be sent to Mexico for slaughter. We step in and try to save them,” she said. “Another part of our mission is providing equine therapy. For veterans, coming out and just spending time with the horses is very therapeutic.”

Moreland’s husband was a veteran and part of the nonprofits’ mission statement is to extend a hand to grieving families and veterans.

“Particularly families that have lost children, come out here and do therapy with the horses. But we’d like to eventually get some little cabins put out so they can spend time and a larger housing unit, so veterans can spend a full week out here,” she said. “Not only do (we want to provide) equine therapy, but have a volunteer therapist, so they can have individual and group therapy out here as well and learn to cope with what they’ve had to witness by serving our country.”

A list of donation options for the organization can be found at linktr.ee/roarsanctuary. A gofundme was also set up with a goal of $20,000 to replace lost supplies and restore the ability to provide for the animals.

“We have a lot of special animals here,” Moreland said. “We just want to make sure they get the care they deserve.”