Published: Monday, July 26, 2010
Mill Creek Girl Scout gets the group's highest award for her work with a neglected horse
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Shannon Wiese, a senior at Archbishop Murphy High School, earned a Girl Scout Gold Award for her work with a rescued horse named Lady Bug.
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Shannon Wiese was honored by Gov. Chris Gregoire in Olympia after she earned the Girl Scout Gold Award.
Shannon Wiese did a really nice thing because she loves horses.
Girls Scouts loved her effort so much they gave her its highest honor -- a Gold Award.
The senior at Archbishop Murphy High School cared for a horse that was abandoned in a pasture. She gave time and her own money to turn a horse that couldn't be touched into a steed she could hop on and ride.
"The appreciation Shannon has for riding horses has extended into feeling a sense of responsibility for the safety and well-being of these gentle creatures," said Gillian Hagamen, marketing director, community relations, Girl Scouts of Western Washington. "Her desire to care for horses shaped her Girl Scout Gold Award project."
The Mill Creek teen has been riding horses since she was a little girl. She's never owned her own horse, but learned enough to train horses for other folks.
When she gets time.
She is on the varsity volleyball team and is a ballet dancer. Shannon volunteers at Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center in Woodinville.
Choosing a project to earn the Gold Award, Shannon learned about People Helping Horses in Arlington, a nonprofit organization that aims to improve horse and human relationships through education, rehabilitation and support. The horses sponsored by People Helping Horses are retired, unwanted, found abandoned, seized by law enforcement or saved from abuse or neglect by organizations such as the SPCA or Humane Society.
The teen made an unusual request to People Helping Horses. She asked if she could take care of a neglected horse.
Laura Laney, adoption coordinator, had a horse that needed a loving hand. Lady Bug was a 20-year-old quarter horse seized in Skagit County with other neglected horses in January 2009. They had been abandoned in a pasture.
"The horses were not being taken care of," Laney said. "Two had severe lameness issues and were put down. There was nothing we could do for them."
Lady Bug may have had Cushing's disease, an affliction in older horses. Laney said the horse didn't trust people.
Shannon knew just what to do.
She moved Lady Bug to Wildfire Farm in Snohomish, closer to her Mill Creek home.
It took Lady Bug a month to let Shannon touch her feet. At first she was hesitant, but she gradually started to trust the teen. She took the time to note her progress.
"I wanted to do this for my project, so I could open other people's eyes to the issue of horse neglect and abuse. It doesn't cross most people's minds that this stuff is going on, and I wanted to shed some light on the issue."
Shannon dipped into her savings, which included money raised from baby-sitting, to pay Lady Bug's keep.
Family members took turns driving Shannon back and forth to the farm. She got rides from her parents, Meg and Jerry Wiese; sister Erin; and her grandmother, Kit McGarry.
"I would get her out of the stall. At first, she wanted to be left alone. I worked on her, like picking up her hooves so she would feel more comfortable around me."
The horse was afraid of bathing. Everything about her care was done in baby steps.
Slowly she gained the trust of the horse and eventually got to ride Lady Bug.
"We really connected," Shannon said.
They worked together for six months.
Shannon created a training model for other people interested in working with abused or neglected horses. She wanted to find a way to make sure she could help others learn to do what she did with Lady Bug.
Her efforts were rewarded with a Gold Award, and she was honored by Gov. Chris Gregoire in Olympia.
Very sadly, Lady Bug was put down after several months of excellent care, and love, by Shannon.
"I cried," she said. "It was hard letting her go."
She'll carry memories of her job well done into her senior year of high school, where she takes honors classes. She hopes to attend college and possibly learn to work as an occupational therapist with children.
Laney said the Girl Scout has the skills for that type of work.
"Shannon, a very sweet girl, had the patience to work with a horse that had been abused," Laney said. "You don't find that in a lot of teenagers."
Kristi O'Harran: 425-339-3451, oharran@heraldnet.com.
Girls Scouts loved her effort so much they gave her its highest honor -- a Gold Award.
The senior at Archbishop Murphy High School cared for a horse that was abandoned in a pasture. She gave time and her own money to turn a horse that couldn't be touched into a steed she could hop on and ride.
"The appreciation Shannon has for riding horses has extended into feeling a sense of responsibility for the safety and well-being of these gentle creatures," said Gillian Hagamen, marketing director, community relations, Girl Scouts of Western Washington. "Her desire to care for horses shaped her Girl Scout Gold Award project."
The Mill Creek teen has been riding horses since she was a little girl. She's never owned her own horse, but learned enough to train horses for other folks.
When she gets time.
She is on the varsity volleyball team and is a ballet dancer. Shannon volunteers at Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center in Woodinville.
Choosing a project to earn the Gold Award, Shannon learned about People Helping Horses in Arlington, a nonprofit organization that aims to improve horse and human relationships through education, rehabilitation and support. The horses sponsored by People Helping Horses are retired, unwanted, found abandoned, seized by law enforcement or saved from abuse or neglect by organizations such as the SPCA or Humane Society.
The teen made an unusual request to People Helping Horses. She asked if she could take care of a neglected horse.
Laura Laney, adoption coordinator, had a horse that needed a loving hand. Lady Bug was a 20-year-old quarter horse seized in Skagit County with other neglected horses in January 2009. They had been abandoned in a pasture.
"The horses were not being taken care of," Laney said. "Two had severe lameness issues and were put down. There was nothing we could do for them."
Lady Bug may have had Cushing's disease, an affliction in older horses. Laney said the horse didn't trust people.
Shannon knew just what to do.
She moved Lady Bug to Wildfire Farm in Snohomish, closer to her Mill Creek home.
It took Lady Bug a month to let Shannon touch her feet. At first she was hesitant, but she gradually started to trust the teen. She took the time to note her progress.
"I wanted to do this for my project, so I could open other people's eyes to the issue of horse neglect and abuse. It doesn't cross most people's minds that this stuff is going on, and I wanted to shed some light on the issue."
Shannon dipped into her savings, which included money raised from baby-sitting, to pay Lady Bug's keep.
Family members took turns driving Shannon back and forth to the farm. She got rides from her parents, Meg and Jerry Wiese; sister Erin; and her grandmother, Kit McGarry.
"I would get her out of the stall. At first, she wanted to be left alone. I worked on her, like picking up her hooves so she would feel more comfortable around me."
The horse was afraid of bathing. Everything about her care was done in baby steps.
Slowly she gained the trust of the horse and eventually got to ride Lady Bug.
"We really connected," Shannon said.
They worked together for six months.
Shannon created a training model for other people interested in working with abused or neglected horses. She wanted to find a way to make sure she could help others learn to do what she did with Lady Bug.
Her efforts were rewarded with a Gold Award, and she was honored by Gov. Chris Gregoire in Olympia.
Very sadly, Lady Bug was put down after several months of excellent care, and love, by Shannon.
"I cried," she said. "It was hard letting her go."
She'll carry memories of her job well done into her senior year of high school, where she takes honors classes. She hopes to attend college and possibly learn to work as an occupational therapist with children.
Laney said the Girl Scout has the skills for that type of work.
"Shannon, a very sweet girl, had the patience to work with a horse that had been abused," Laney said. "You don't find that in a lot of teenagers."
Kristi O'Harran: 425-339-3451, oharran@heraldnet.com.
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