PRAYERS ANSWERED! Chocolate Chip has been Rescued!

Stolen Horse International always say, "Never underestimate the power of one", and "Never ever give up hope."

That is exactly what Bedonna Dismore did when she found her beloved horse Chocolate Chip missing on November 27, 2013.

Today her hope and ther prayers of thousands has been answered. Chocolate Chip is home safe.

Following is the unedited story by Bedonna about her ordeal with Chocolate Chip. It is an inspirational story and one that reminds us that miracles really do come true.

Now Bedonna's story....

She was originally lost/missing, and presumed stolen 2 days before Thanksgiving. And, then... 12 days later... Sunday Dec. 08, some Coyote Hunters near our property were hunting and found my horse trapped in some rocks on a mountain.

They didn't know who owned her, and called a land owner of the neighboring property, who called me. I was shocked to hear she was Alive... But... where was She?

The hunters couldn't be reached by phone to explain where she was and so Johnny McElroy and I started searching the snow covered mountain area where we thought the hunters had been... and we found Nothing. Then, Johnny asked where the horse was last seen, and that made him think of a Lost Calf 25 years ago on some property where the calf got stuck down a narrow crack in a hidden spot in some rocks... so he left and went to look for Chocolate Chip there... and FOUND HER!

She was in a similar spot... up and over a mountainous area, down a slope, and through a hidden, narrow "hallway" between two tall walls of rock ... where the narrow trail sloped downhill, and ended in a shallow hole with Boulders blocking the end of the trail.... A Dead End.

In this case Dead End... had a whole new Meaning for a horse with no way to turn around and no way to back up! I was still searching on the other mountain when Johnny called, and said he had found her... Alive!

I hiked down the mountain to get back to my truck and drive to where he was... and he showed me how to find her. She was invisible until you were right on top of her... looking down over the rocks... down to the hole where she was.

I had brought a gallon of warm water and a bucket and we lowered it down to her to give her a drink. There was ice and snow all around her... except where she could reach... and she had obviously been eating and licking snow and ice to stay alive during our freezing weather.

When she was found... it was almost dark.... and all I could do was take her small amounts of warm water and small rations of hay to try to keep her strength up... and spread it out during the night... so I did.

By the way... climbing mountains in the dark carrying buckets and hay... in the snow.. is challenging to say the least. Chocolate Chip made it through the night and seemed to be getting stronger and more alert.

At daylight... I fed my other horses, and broke ice for them... and then went to making calls for help. I called EVERY Police Dept., Fire Dept., Sheriff Dept. and many others in my area for help... but I was getting NO RESPONSE!

The only person that had come to help was a local man named Mitch Johnston and with only 2 of us... we couldn't get her out. Finally... one of the Snyder Volunteer Fire Dept. men named John Stouder came to help... but with only 3 people... we were not doing well, and Chocolate Chip was getting weaker from resisting our rescue efforts, and we were afraid she was going to fall, and we would lose her.

We then turned our attention to the possibility of a Crane to lift her out and found that a crane could not reach over that far over the rocks and pick her up. We also found that there were no helicopters in our area designed to pick up a 1000 lb horse. We were running out of options.

Volunteer John kept making phone calls, and so did I. Calling every person I could think of... Then, some more of the Snyder Fire Dept. guys, and a couple Snyder Policemen arrived, and they went up the rocks to evaluate the rescue efforts.

I was in my truck making desperate calls for help when I saw Mitch waving his arms at me from over the top of the rocks, and my heart Sank! I thought she might have slipped and broken a leg, or fell and broke her neck or something... and as I ran through the snow... I saw the Brave men walking over the top of the rocks... and then.... I saw Chocolate Chip! Upright and walking!

My heart just about exploded with Joy, Relief, and Disbelief... and I couldn't believe my tear-filled eyes.... she was alive and free from her rocky tomb. I sat in the snow on my knees and thanked GOD for the answered prayers and the brave men he sent to our aid.

After I hugged and thanked all the men, we took a couple pictures, and they told me what happened. I took Chocolate Chip down the rocks and walked her to a nearby corral a quarter mile away. I was shocked she could stay on her feet and walk after being still in one spot for 13 DAYS!

The men were able to work together and get her out by putting wide straps around her to pull her backwards, and one of them got in the hole, to push her backwards... up and out of the shallow hole (which we had try to fill and pack with blocks of alfalfa hay), and up the snow covered trail between the walls of rocks... until the trail was wide enough for her to turn around and climb out forward.

A trailer was brought to the corral, and Chocolate Chip was trailered home, given vitamins, meds., and more warm water and more small meals... and she also was fitted with a winter blanket for the first time... and she didn't seem to mind at all.

The whole world has been praying for Chocolate Chip, and our PRAYERS were ANSWERED! Praise GOD.

I want to THANK Mitch Johnston for his help and to the rescuers: John Stouder- Snyder Vol. Fireman, Eric Lewis- Snyder Police Chief and Vol. Fireman, Justin Bower- Vol. Fireman, Bill Graves- Fire Chief for the Vol. Fire dept., and Dale Saul- Vol. Fireman.

Anyone wishing to make a DONATION to the SNYDER, OK Volunteer FIRE Dept. can do so by sending it to: Snyder City Hall Attn: Snyder Volunteer Fire Dept. / Chief Bill Graves 721 "E" street Snyder, OK 73566 (include a Note that the donation is for thanks for the horse rescue) or call 580-569-2119 (Snyder City Hall)

I also want to thank the MERS Large Animal Rescue team in MO. I called one of them in the middle of the night before her rescue to ask for advice, and the kind man (I can't remember his name) was VERY helpful in explaining how to try to get help, and how to try to get her out. They even tried to assist from a distance with calls, suggestions and trying to call local people for help.

Thank You! And I also want to thank the over 45,000 people around the world who were praying and sharing and praying and sharing. I was so mentally exhausted and physically drained... that your prayers helped give me the strength to stay focused and strong for Chocolate Chip. Her recovery will be a long one, and we still need lots of prayers in the weeks and months ahead.

THANKS to ALL, Chocolate Chip and Bedonna

Stolen Horse International, aka NetPosse.com would like to thank everyone who helped in any way in the search for Chocolate Chip. Prayers are answerd and miracles do happen with the help of wonderful people like you!

Please give us the gift of another year doing what we do best, helping in the search to bring missing horses home. Donate Today!

Click here to see Chocolate Chips NetPosse webpage: http://netposse.com/view_report.asp?reportid=2127