Helping Hands Save Lives

Helping Hands Save Lives X

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It started with a little girl, a question and a ton of morals — and grew into a nonprofit operating on its own ranch just a few miles northwest of Fargo.

"(Our daughter) asked what a kill truck was," said Robert Faulkner, owner, operator and director of Pride and Joy Rescue. "She didn't want them to do it. She wanted to help as many horses as we possibly could."

Pride and Joy Rescue is a 501c3 nonprofit in Fargo, N.D., that works to connect the community and horse rescues.

"Horses have such a healing power to them," said Connie Faulkner, co-owner, operator and director of Pride and Joy. "If you save them, they'll save you."

And save them they do.

Connie and Robert have saved more than 10 horses since their inception in 2021. Roughly 1-2 percent of the U.S. equine population is slaughtered each year, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, with their bodies being sold at livestock auctions for human consumption in places like Mexico, Japan, China, Germany and Indonesia, to name a few.

The Faulkners, like many other equine rescues, attend these auctions with the intention of buying the creatures and providing them a loving home until they're deemed ready for adoption.

WRITTEN BY: EMMA VATNSDAL PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA

"It's usually about five of us against six, seven, eight of the kill buyers (those who attend livestock auctions with the intention of purchasing horses to ship to countries who will pay for their meat)," said Connie. "It's legit a complete bidding war. And if the kill buyers win (the bid) you'll see the rescue group following them to their trucks to buy the horses off them."

After these gentle giants are taken off the truck, they're brought to the rescue to begin their new lives — with food, medical care and love waiting for them. "I grew up around horses, they kept me out of trouble," said Connie. "This is me paying them back. So we're saving them, they're saving (our daughter Rainey)."

It's a family affair, too. Everyone has their role within Pride and Joy — some work as ranch hands, some help with the business side of the nonprofit, and Rainey, a spitfire of an 8-year-old, runs to the beat of her own drum as a ranch hand in training.

Pride and Joy currently has 11 horses — 10 of which are at their ranch, with the other at training in preparation for her adoption — and every single one has a story.

Lil' Horse and Corky's, the two that started it all, original owner was unable to provide the attention they needed and they were getting ready to be sent to the unknown. The stars aligned and the Faulkners were able to take them in, creating a bond between the horses and their owners that is completely unbreakable.

Two more came from an Amish farm, while a couple of others were saved from the kill truck, just like their brothers Corky and Lil' Horse.

But the most incredible story started just five weeks ago, with a very underweight guy named Forty. His original owners tried to keep weight on him, but ultimately did what they thought was best: sending him to Pride and Joy. But the rescue had their work cut out for them from the get-go.

"He was extremely, extremely, extremely underweight when we got him," Connie said. "He was like 900 pounds."

For context, a healthy horse generally weighs between 1,800 and 2,000 pounds.

"When we got him he couldn't pick his feet up," Connie said. "His entire hips were sticking out and you could see his ribs and spine. When we got him, he had absolutely no energy whatsoever."

However, through a strict diet of feed, along with many, many other caloric-rich foods, Forty has started to gain — weighing in at over 1,100 pounds on the day of this interview.

The Faulkners aren't the only ones getting the chance to love on these creatures, though.

Pride and Joy hosts groups out to the ranch to learn from and about the horses, as well as help out with the chores and feeding.

"We've had Project RAI out," Connie said. "That was kind of fun, we got to tie in the educational part of horse rescue with that."

Project RAI is a Fargo nonprofit with a mission to reduce suicide statistics among LGBTQ+ youth by helping them feel comfortable in their own skin.

"I basically set things up for them to do ahead of timebased on their ages," she said. "We had them washing feed buckets, we had them wash a water pail and clean stalls. And I showed them what the horses looked like when they come in and what they look like now, and when they're all done, we do a training demo."

They're hoping to open their rescue to more groups, too.

"My end goal would be to find some way to help sheriffs, veterans, any type of that entity, work through their PTSD," Connie said. "That means a lot to us. We've talked to a couple of sheriff groups already and they know they have an open invitation out here, but there's such a stigma around it. We want to break that. I know what (the horses) can do for PTSD, I know what they can do for depression, I know what they can do for anxiety. I know what grooming them can do for people, I've seen it, I've experienced it — if people need to do that, they just need to reach out."

And through all their work, all the long hours and money spent, the Faulkners say it's all worth it.

"I think we're living the Good Life," Connie said. "We're giving Rainey a place to play, she has responsibilities, she has compassion, she's learning something that kids her age don't get to learn, she gets to take care of these guys. For us, that's the Good Life."

The Faulkners are always welcoming volunteers to help around the rescue. "The biggest thing for us is the community support," Connie said. "We want to support Fargo with this place. We're trying to do things that help the community, but we can't do that without the community helping us." •