About Windy's Landing

Our Story

Dave and Nancy have been quietly rescuing animals for over 25 years, but only recently did they become an official rescue. Their earliest rescues were cats that people dropped off. Presumably when they saw we had a barn, they thought this was the perfect place for their unwanted cats, sometimes pregnant ones. We took them in, named them, fed them, found homes for their kittens, got them spayed, neutered, and vaccinated. Their former people probably thought they'd be barn cats, and at first they were, but then we'd fall in love with them and bring them into the house so they'd be safe from the winter cold and prowling coyotes.

Then one night in January of 2003, Dave was watching hockey and Nancy was on the internet looking for horses that needed to be adopted. She had an idea that she'd rescue a retired racehorse, an off-the-track Thoroughbred, but the internet kept bringing her back to PMU foals born as by-products of the pharmaceutical industry. Without adoption, they would be fattened up and sent to slaughter, tens of thousands of them. Nancy said, "Hey Dave, what would you think about getting a foal, just a few months old." "Sure," he said, probably not understanding the weight of the question. After a few minutes, Nancy said, "You know they're herd animals. It would be cruel to have just one. I think we should get two." "Sure," Dave said, his attention on the game. It wasn't long before two became four and the little shed of a barn she'd planned needed four stalls, an aisle, a tack room, and a feed room. The four colts were delivered in September of 2003. Atticus, Ruben, Scotty, and Milo. A year later, Finn joined them. Eventually, Nancy rescued an off-the-track thoroughbred named Averroes.

Meanwhile, more rescued cats, dogs, and a couple of chickens found in a parking lot.

Was discovering kill pen horses a mistake? It depends on who you ask. Nancy found Facebook pages devoted to horses at kill pens, the last stop before being shipped to Mexico for slaughter. (They eat horse meat in Europe and Asia.) In November of 2024, Nancy brought Lottie, a big black draft-cross mare, home from a kill pen. She's fabulous, but like so many of the kill pen horses, she wasn't completely healthy. She needed surgery on her neck and she got it. That was the start. Next Nancy brought home Charlotte, a mini who needed a damaged eye removed, and then Jack and Windy, followed by Betsy and Dutch, Doc and Chester. Dave said, "If you bring them home, I'll help care for them."

Somewhere along the line it seemed necessary to become a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Done!

Windy's Landing is named after one of the kill pen rescues who was in such bad shape we weren't sure if he'd make it. He did. He's thriving. And we're feeling good about the work we're doing.