United Methodist family rescues New Orleans’ mules
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A UMNS photo by Jan Snider Amanda and Dick Reese are caring for evacuated carriage mules.
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Amanda
and Dick Reese are taking care of evacuated carriage mules from New
Orleans. Hurricane Katrina caused the mules� owners to seek shelter for
the animals after flooding forced the closure of their businesses. A
UMNS photo by Jan Snider. Photo #05H148. Accompanies UMNS Story #537.
9/26/05 |
Sept. 26, 2005 A UMNS Report By Jan Snider* Within two days of the New Orleans flood, Dick and Amanda Reese of Gallatin, Tenn., had more than 30 extra mouths to feed. The meals were served up in the form of hay bales and Tennessee pasture land. The
Reeses, members of First United Methodist Church in Gallatin, are mule
ranchers, along with Dick’s brother, Rufus. When Hurricane Katrina
caused levees in New Orleans to break Aug. 29, the Reeses knew the
animals pulling carriages around the French Quarter were in trouble. Dick
began trying to reach the carriage owners. He had originally sold many
of the hardy animals to the businesses and wanted to offer his ranch for
boarding. The
first owner he heard from was sure her animals had perished in the
flood. "She was devastated," he recalls. "She thought she’d lost her
business and everything." She soon discovered the mules had been taken
to a Baton Rouge, La., shelter.
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A UMNS photo by Jan Snider New Orleans mules are temporarily living in Tennessee.
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More
than 30 mules are living in Tennessee until they can return to jobs as
carriage mules in New Orleans� French Quarter. The mules are expected to
reside on a ranch in Gallatin, Tenn., for at least six months. A UMNS
photo by Jan Snider. Photo #05H149. Accompanies UMNS story #537.
9/26/05 |
Dick arranged for
trucks to pick up the mules and bring them to Tennessee. Amanda says it
is their mission to care for the animals until the carriage businesses
can be restored. "A driving mule is hard to come by these days," she
explains. "The business owners’ way of life needed protecting." "There
are probably 120 working mules in New Orleans, although only about 25
can be out on the square at a time," Dick explains. "If the mules were
lost, that would affect at least 120 families." The
Reese brothers are mending fences along their land to keep the mules
from wandering the country roads. "They’re very curious animals," Dick
says. "They’ll get into everything; they’ll open gates and get where
they don’t need to be. We have to double-team them!" Reese
says he’s banded the mules to indicate which ones belong to the
particular owners. He’s observed that even though the rescued mules are
sharing pastureland, they do not associate with the mules belonging to a
competing company. To
their good fortune, the rift did not extend to their rescue. A New
Orleans carriage company owner hauled a competing company’s mules to
safety when he discovered they were stranded. Ten additional horses were
not so lucky and spent several days on the highway surrounded by water.
Those horses are being transported to the Reese ranch. Mules,
a cross between donkeys and horses, are considered personable and
intelligent. Carriage drivers are known to get attached to their equine
partners, and some have contacted Dick Reese to see how the animals are
doing.
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A UMNS photo by Jan Snider Dick Reese walks a mule out to pasture.
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Dick
Reese of Reese Brothers Mule Co. in Gallatin, Tenn., is caring for
evacuated mules and horses from the New Orleans tourist trade. Reese
originally sold many of the mules to carriage companies that serve the
French Quarter. He�s offering shelter to the animals until the owners
can return to business following the destruction caused by Hurricane
Katrina. A UMNS photo by Jan Snider. Photo #05H150. Accompanies UMNS
story #537. 9/26/05 |
"Their homes are
under water and they’re probably staying at shelters, but the drivers
want to come and visit their mules as soon as they can," Dick says.A
handful of his four-legged guests were scheduled to return to New
Orleans, but Hurricane Rita delayed the plans. Dick says one of the
business owners is anxious to show people New Orleans will bounce back
and that having the working carriages around Jackson Square again will
signal survival. The rest of the mules are not expected to be returned
to the city until major cleanup efforts are completed. While
many are applauding the Reeses for their time, effort and expense in
getting the animals safely to Tennessee, Dick is uncomfortable taking
credit. As a member of First United Methodist Church, he has watched his
fellow parishioners give time and money to ease the human toll of
Katrina. "This is a small way we can help," Amanda says, "and I think the mules are very lucky to be here on good Tennessee grass." When
word got out that the Reeses were boarding the New Orleans mules, the
phone began ringing. "People have called and wanted to donate food or
adopt a few of the animals," Amanda explains, "but we are fine right
now. We want to keep the animals together." When winter comes, she says,
they may need extra help with the cost of feed, but now the mules are
dining on plenty of hay and grass. The Reese Brothers Mule Co. is expected to care for the New Orleans mules and horses for at least six more months. When
asked if this is his form of Christian outreach, Dick says, "It’s just
outreach. This is something I can do. I know how to do it, I know the
people. Anybody would have done it." *Snider is a multimedia producer for United Methodist News Service. News media contact: Jan Snider, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5474 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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