God’s Grace Animal Rescue is organizing a Paint Party on Saturday, March 8, at the High Ridge Elks Lodge to raise money for supplies after a storage building on the property caught fire last month.
The storage building is a total loss, said God’s Grace founder Lynn Fozzy, and one horse in the rescue’s care, Noel, needed treatment for exposure to the smoke following the fire on Jan. 20.
“It’s been a nightmare,” Fozzy said. “We’re going to have to tear down the shop. We’ve lost some of our tools. The mare (Noel) had three vet visits because of her eyes, so that cost us a little bit extra that we weren’t planning for. We don’t mind putting our personal money into it because it’s what we signed up for, but this just kind of put a little extra damper on us.”
The Paint Party will begin at 2 p.m. at the lodge, 2808 Old Hunning Road. Tickets cost $30 a person and must be purchased by Friday, Feb. 28. The price of the ticket includes all painting supplies and instructions needed to create a portrait of a fluffy brown cow.
A silent auction and 50/50 raffle will also be held during the party. The Elks will provide a cash bar, and eventgoers are permitted to bring food to the lodge.
“I’m hoping this will be a really fun party,” Fozzy said. “I think this is something people can really get into and then they have something to take home with them by the end.”
The fire
Fozzy said her husband, Jim, was returning from dropping off a truck for repairs at around 9 a.m. when he saw smoke coming from the storage building.
The couple called 911 and immediately worked to move animals from the upper barn, which is about 15 feet away from the storage building that was on fire, to the pasture. Animals from the lower barn also were moved to a pasture.
Fozzy said Byrnes Mill Police Chief Frank T. Selvaggio and two officers came to help them move the animals, with Selvaggio even wrangling a frightened sheep attempting to escape.
High Ridge Fire Protection District crews arrived on the scene at 9:30 a.m., and the fire was under control by 10 a.m., Chief John Barton said.
“The fire department believes that some critter chewed through a wire, and it caused an electrical short fire,” Fozzy said.
Due to the fire, the upper barn does not have electricity, Fozzy said, meaning the animals in the rescue’s care must be kept in the lower barn for the time being.
After several veterinarian visits, Fozzy said Noel is doing better. None of the other animals in the rescue’s care were injured due to the fire.
The rescue
In 2015 Fozzy founded God’s Grace Animal Rescue, a farm animal rescue organization that works to “rescue, rehabilitate and re-home” animals from bad, oftentimes abusive, environments.
The rescue currently takes care of horses, turkeys, potbelly pigs, sheep, goats, a mini donkey and a mini zebu steer. Most of the animals will be adopted, but some may stay long-term due to their extensive medical needs.
God’s Grace often takes animals to local events to educate the public about animal abuse and to show how animals can be rehabilitated.
Fozzy is a full-time veterinarian technician with the Concord Animal Hospital, in addition to running God’s Grace.
“I have the experience and knowledge to be able to deal with some of the things that other people might not have,” she said. “Some of the animals end up staying as sanctuary animals because they’ve got some kind of health issue that a lot of people don’t want to deal with.”
Fozzy said the rescue is donation-based, adding that she was grateful for the volunteers who gave their time to help relocate the animals after the fire and clean up the area.
She said a special thanks goes to Selvaggio, who rushed to the rescue’s aid when he found out a fire had broken out.
“It’s just nice to know that the community comes together like that to help you when something like that happens,” Fozzy said.
For more information about the rescue or to purchase tickets for the Paint Party, visit the rescue’s Facebook page, Gods Grace Animal Rescue, or email godsgraceanimalrescue@gmail.com.