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Dr. Jennings, and her horses "Tony
and Benjamin" -
08-03-17
I first learned about the
Guardian Mask in 2007 when I rescued a goofball of a Standardbred
named Tony to join the ranks of my equine therapy herd. Tony had
injured his eye, and after months of battling an infection it was
removed. A friend of a friend donated the Guardian Mask to my
program to help Tony through is injury and surgical recovery. I was
so grateful to have the mask because it kept his eye dirt free which
was a small miracle in the South Florida heat, sand and grime. While
Tony is no longer with us, our Guardian Mask is. Flash forward to
2017, Benjamin is a 23 year old paint horse who has worked for nine
years in our program providing therapy to children with
disabilities. Benjamin was donated to our program at the age of 14.
Unfortunately he had been turned out in a pasture for several years
without any protection from the sun. Like many people, Benjamin’s
previous owner did not know the damage the Florida sun could do to
Benjamin’s pink skin around his left eye and on his nose. Benjamin
has had three surgeries on his eyelid to remove squamous cell
carcinoma in the last 6 years and will likely need another one in a
few months. I can only imagine how Benjamin’s cancer may have
progressed if he hadn’t had his Guardian Mask to protect him.
I’m astounded at the difference in sun protection that the Guardian
Mask provides. Occasionally Benjamin loses his Guardian Mask in his
35 acre field and has had to wear the typical fly mask you can buy
from most tack retailers until we manage to find it. Every time this
happens we notice that he still gets a slight sunburn on his eyelid.
We are so grateful to have had our Guardian Mask for the last 10
years. It’s amazing it’s lasted that long. I am eagerly awaiting the
arrival of his new one. Thanks to his amazing surgeons at UC Davis
Veterinary School and Guardian Mask Benjamin will be helping
children for many more years.
Terri Jennings, Ph.D.
Licensed Psychologist and Founder Healing Strides Psychotherapy
Arcata, CA
Hi Dr. Jennings,
We are very sorry for
the loss of Tony, at the same time very happy about Benjamin's
progress. We are also very grateful for the friend that
donated the mask to begin with, if you get the chance, thank them
for us as well.
Guardian Mask
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