Where Is Dreamer's Faith?

She was stolen on, or the day before, Labor Day (7 September 2015).  Two men took her away from her family.  She's a little girl, alone, lonely, and greatly missed.  Is she still alive?  Is she being fed what she needs?  Is she being handled and taught her manners?  Has she already been killed to feed people in Europe and Asia, or is she starving to death in some back alley, desperately wanting food, water, fresh air and freedom?  No one knows. - Except, maybe the two men who took her from her family, and from her home.
   She's a very pretty little girl - a Chincoteague pony, born this past spring.  She is the daughter of Dreamer's Gift and Courtney's Boy.  She was born wild and free on the island of Assateague in the state of Virginia.  Faith was made much of during Pony Penning week because of her unusual markings - and she was one of the foals chosen as a "buy back" by the Pony Committee of the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company, for breeding purposes, because of her bloodlines and her different markings.  Faith was only four or five months old when she was stolen last month.  She had received a freeze brand reading 15 on her left hip, since that is the year of her birth.
   She was with her sire, Courtney's Boy, several friends of her own age who were also "buy back" foals, and a few mares with foals whose new owners are due to pick them up next weekend, during the Fall Round-up.  This particular small group of horses/ponies were being kept on the CVFC's Carnival Ground corral on Main Street, on Chincoteague.  Two men with a white Chevrolet dually truck and a white horse trailer were seen trying to separate Faith from the rest of the ponies.  No one who saw the men in the corral thought it was strange; our Salt Water Cowboys visit frequently, as does our veterinarian.
   This is the first time in the 90 year history of the Fire Department's owning and selling of the ponies, made famous by Marguerite Henry's Newberry Award winning book Misty of Chincoteague, that a pony has been stolen from either Assateague or Chincoteague Island.  I hope it is the last.  The filly's markings are impossible to mistake.  She is a red (or chestnut) paint.  She has four high white stockings, and the left fore goes up to her elbow.  On her right side is an odd puddle of white that has a chestnut heart shape behind her withers and on her backbone.  On her left side, on her neck, withers, and shoulder is a bird in flight - or a cross made of clouds being blown by the wind.  She has a small star above her wide-set brown eyes in the shape of a backwards comma or apostrophe.  And she has that 15 freeze brand on her left hip.
   There is a REWARD offered.   She is stolen property, and her theft is a felony, considering what was donated to the CVFC for the right to name her.  If you see her, hear about her, or hear about any young horse or pony being kept hidden, please contact your local law enforcement agency - police or sheriff.  The local contact for the Chincoteague Police Department is Corporal Tyler Greenly and his phone number is (757) 336-3155.
   Here are photos of Dreamer's Faith, at one day old, and at 4 months old:

Dreamer's Faith, one day old

 

 Dreamer's Faith, four months old

In this photo, you can see the rectangle on her left hip where the 15 freeze brand was applied.

Football, Blood Moon Eclipse, Faith Still Missing

Boulder is warm, but a little cloudy this morning.  I'm still a little shell-shocked from this weekend's football - both collegiate and professional, though.  I figured the South Carolina Gamecocks would bounce back and win this week; I did not think that Florida would be able to defeat Tennessee, as they did; and I was amazed by the CU Buffs shutting out Nicholls State.  I was thrilled that the Broncos won in Detroit last night - but the other pro teams I cheer for lost.  And, on the happy and sad list is that Ben Roethlisberger's knee injury will keep him from playing for 4 to 6 weeks; I wanted it to be a career-ending injury.  A multiple rapist shouldn't be a 'worshiped' NFL quarterback, period.
   The full eclipse of the super blood moon was a fantastic sight.  We went up Flagstaff Mountain and parked at one of the eastern overlooks to observe the occurrence.  It was gorgeous!

Dreamer's Faith, and the people who stole her, are still in an unknown, undiscovered place.  Saturday the Chincoteague Pony 4-H Club raised another $634.+ to add to the reward for the stolen filly.  The reward is now over $2,100 for information that leads to the return of the filly, and/or the arrest of the miscreants who stole her.

   Dreamer's Faith is a 5 to 6 month old chestnut paint filly.  She has a freeze brand on her left hip that plainly reads "15" and she has a very easily distinguished coat pattern.  She has a chestnut head and face with a backwards apostrophe white star on her forehead, above and between her eyes.  She has four white stockings - well above her knees and hocks.  On her right side, just behind her withers is a chestnut heart surrounded by white, that extends to her croup.  On her left shoulder and neck is a white marking that can be seen as a dove in flight, or a wind-blown cross.  Her forelock and mane are chestnut until her withers, with the last few inches being white.  Her tail is mainly chestnut, with a small white strip near the base on the left side.  She is stolen property.  She is missed by her owners and fans.  She was removed from Chincoteague Island, Virginia on September 6 or 7, in a white horse trailer pulled by a white Chevy dually truck.  Please keep your eyes open for this much-loved and missing filly. (See previous post on B's Critter Sitter Blog for photos.)

White Truck & Trailer Sought in Dreamer's Faith Theft

Questioning locals and tourists, the Chincoteague Police Department has determined that a full size white Chevy pick-up truck with dual tires that had a white horse trailer attached was most probably the vehicle tandem used in the theft of Dreamer's Faith.  On the 6th or 7th of September, two men were observed trying to catch a foal at the Main Street Carnival Ground corral.  The white Chevy dually truck and trailer were also seen, as well as a parked electric golf cart.   Late in the afternoon on Labor Day, the 7th, it was noted that the chestnut and white paint filly, named Dreamer's Faith, was no longer with the other ponies in the corral.  Her theft has been covered by television stations, newspapers, on my blog, and on Facebook.   Over 808,000 views have been made on the Facebook site.  I have sent information and photos of the stolen filly to equine veterinarians in Colorado, Iowa, New Mexico, and Wyoming.  Faith is easily identifiable by the number 15 freeze brand on her left hip.  These freeze brands are placed only on ponies that are to be kept on Assateague Island in the herds belonging to the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company.
   Please keep spreading the word that Dreamer's Faith is stolen and there is a reward (now $1,500) offered.