Lisa has been a client of Peterson Smith for six years! Originally from Minnesota, she and her husband, Gordy, moved to Ocala, Florida, from California with nine horses and five dogs. Since living in Ocala, they’ve collected a few more ponies and dogs, giving them a total of eleven horses and nine dogs, all through fostering. Lisa worked with rescues in Minnesota. When she moved to Ocala, she began to work with Howie Horse Haven and volunteered to socialize and handle feral miniature horses, which brought her Pudge.
Pudge is a four-year-old dwarf mini horse who has caught a lot of attention on social media through his Facebook page titled Pudge The Dwarf Mini Horse & Friends. The account started as a way for Lisa to update the rescue on Pudge, but his account grew as it became a happy spot for several people during the Covid-19 pandemic. The social media account comes from Pudge’s perspective. You quickly learn Pudge is a sassy mini with a typical routine of roaming with friends, napping, and receiving peppermints from “management.” That does not include days where Pudge’s owner, Kim, Lisa’s Sister, dresses Pudge and friends up for holidays.
Once you get to know Pudge on social media, you will be blown away to discover that he came to Lisa’s farm as an unhandled six-month-old feral mini horse from an animal control case. Lisa goes into every foster case with the intent to help them find their forever home but will decide to keep the ones who are high maintenance to ensure they receive proper care. Although Pudge’s dwarfism attributes to his cute structure, he comes with a lot of responsibilities, which is why Lisa made the decision to keep him.
Dr. Tanya Thacker is Lisa’s primary equine vet since moving to Ocala. Lisa says, “Dr. Thacker is amazing! She is thorough and knows the history of the whole herd. It feels like I have a partner to help me problem solve when emergencies arise.” In addition to working with Dr. Thacker from Peterson Smith, Lisa has also worked with Dr. Evans on her equine dental exams and a few veterinarians in our hospital, such as Dr. Faith Hughes, Dr. Brooke’s, and Dr. Henry. She goes onto say she’s very grateful to have a full-service equine clinic 20 minutes from home. Lisa told us of a time one of her geriatric horses broke his tooth; she called her vet, Dr. Thacker, who quickly made a visit and referred Dr. Evans for an x-ray. Dr. Evans arrived the next day and realized the severity of the issue. He then referred Lisa and her horse to the clinic to have Dr. Henry remove the tooth. Dr. Henry is a board certified equine dentist who visits our practice in Ocala frequently throughout the year. Lisa reports, the process was easy and smooth.
We appreciate having Lisa as an advocate for Peterson Smith! She takes amazing care of her animals, and we couldn’t ask for a better client! Be sure to follow along with Pudge’s adventures on Facebook & Instagram –Pudge The Dwarf Mini Horse & Friends.