wfn.org | [UMNS-ALL-NEWS] UMNS# 537-United Methodist family rescues New

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

United Methodist family rescues New Orleans' mules

Sep. 26, 2005

NOTE: A UMTV report, photographs and related coverage are available at
http://umns.umc.org.

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.

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.

"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.

********************

United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org

----------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from this group, go to UMCom.org, log in to your account,
click on the My Resources link and select the Leave option on the list(s)
from which you wish to unsubscribe. If you have problems or questions, please
write to websupport@umcom.org.

Powered by United Methodist Communications http://www.UMCom.org