Spencer could have been a lion’s dinner, at least he was meant to become one and was about to be sent to “Out of Africa Wildlife Park” in Camp Verde, Arizona. However, the 20-year-old horse ended up instead in a place named “Tierra Madre Horse Sanctuary” located at Cave Creek of the same state. How did that happen? Well, here is a story of how a post on Facebook saves a horse from becoming lions’ feed. Spencer was living with a family in Utah and the children in the family used to ride him; he was a family horse. Unfortunately, at one point of time, the family got scattered and the horse was left without a rider for three years in a row. His owner, in order to find Spencer a new home, boarded the horse in Sedona.

Shelley Woellmer, who is a friend of Spencer’s owner, also boarded his horse with the same objective. Together they explored the possibilities of finding their horses new homes for six months. All they wanted to achieve is to find some individuals who are ready to adopt these horses. Spencer has arthritis and he is under medication. So, they even went to equine therapy centers and different animal sanctuaries but their effort apparently did not produce a positive outcome immediately. At this stage the only viable option left for Spencer was to be donated to Out of Africa Wildlife Park. Finally, AZ Pound Pups, an animal rescue organization that works on non-profit basis did something for the horse that changed the course of his fate. They created a Facebook post for Spencer.

AZ Pound Pups’ Facebook post described Spencer as friendly as a dog who will follow his owner around and make his presence felt in a pleasant way. The post also mentions that the horse is always eager to be groomed. The description creates the impression of a family horse who misses his companions and likes to get attention from people. It is from this Facebook post the readers came to know about how live animals are fed to the big cats at the Out of Africa Wildlife Park. The post was shared 220 times and a lot of readers came to know that Spencer’s future is getting narrowed down to the option of being ended up in the Park as lions’ food. Horses that are healthy and are on medication, are however, not accepted by the Park. At the end they refused to take Spencer because of a video shared on Facebook where Spencer is seen performing with balance with a rider.

Kathleen Malone is a horse lover and she is a Phoenix resident; her initiative paired Spencer with Tierra Madre Horse Sanctuary. It’s a pleasant surprise that Gath, the sanctuary owner, is the person who posted on Facebook about Spencer being possibly fed to the lions. Fortunately he had room for the arthritic horse and Spencer arrived there on October 4th; he is getting along with his neighbors Jazz and Wild Bill, two other horses sharing the same barn with him. Gath notices Spencer’s adapting to his new dwelling place so intensely that it feels like he has been at Tierra Madre forever.