BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Tahlia Fischer is the founder of All Seated In A Barn.
"Our mission really is that we rescue the horses and donkeys off the kill pens before they get shipped to slaughter but we also try to intervene before they even get to those kill pens," she said.
Tahlia said donkeys are like big puppy dogs. They’re smart, observant and emotional.
“Once you [are] around them and experience that, it breaks your heart how badly they're treated," she said.
Her organization goes to auctions, works with animal control and takes animal surrenders, all with the goal of saving the animals from abuse.
"Rescue takes a particular type of strength that I don’t have," said Ron King.
Ron is the CEO of a donkey sanctuary called Oscar’s Place in northern California. He partnered up with Tahlia after seeing her TikTok video about having nowhere to take donkeys after rescuing them.
All Seated In A Barn saves the donkeys from auctions and kill pens, then sends them to Oscar’s Place where they’re treated for physical and emotional trauma.
"Getting them to trust humans again so that they can be successfully re-homed takes months and months of daily hands-on work," said founder Phil Selway.
But it’s worth it.
"To see this pasture full of really safe, contented, happy donkeys, it’s just amazing. And to know that that’s what we're going to be doing hopefully for years to come is an amazing feeling. It really is," said Phil.
Tahlia said this partnership has made all the difference.
“It’s been amazing. I’m blown away by Ron and his team and their facility. They're pretty amazing people," she said. "We can only take the donkeys so far here at our facility and when they get to Ron and his team, they are able to take them to that next level.”
Click here to learn more about how you can help All Seated In A Barn, and here for Oscar's Place.
We’re always looking for people and organizations to feature in Kern’s Kindness. If you know someone making a difference in our community, email us at kernskindness@kero.com.
