Genea Stoops of Hooves and Paws Rescue in Mills County accepts a playful nuzzle from Baby River, one of three Percherons currently at the rescue.
Genea and Bill Stoops believe every animal deserves a good home
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Genea Stoops of Hooves and Paws Rescue in Mills County accepts a playful nuzzle from Baby River, one of three Percherons currently at the rescue. |
Genea Stoops rattles off their names one by one. Like a proud mother or doting grandmother she lists their favorite activities and unique characteristics. Fred, Betty, Ann, Victoria, Memphis, Bubba, Joker, River. Joker and River? Not unusual baby names but animal names. Genea and her husband Bill operate Hooves and Paws Rescue in Mills County. Fred, Betty, Ann, Victoria, Memphis and Bubba all are rescued large breed dogs. Joker and River are horses. They are just some of the many abused and neglected animals that make up the Stoops family.
Genea refers to herself as “mom” and to Bill as “dad.” The couple, who will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary this week, have no children, so the four-legged critters become their babies.
“These are our kids,” Genea says calmly.
Genea and Bill both grew up in Omaha. Genea loved horses from a young age as Bill did dogs. As a couple, they decided to add a dog to the family. Why a Saint Bernard? Bill laughs at the story.
“I left her watch Beethoven (the 1992 Disney movie about a family that adopts a Saint Bernard) and she said ‘Let’s get a dog,” Bill laughs. “So we did.”
“And it was downhill from there!” Genea laughs.
Apparently Saint Bernards are like potato chips: You can’t have just one. As the couple’s family photos attest. The couple’s rescue work started just as simply.
“We used to vacation a lot when we lived in Omaha and one year we went to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah. It is the largest no-kill rescue in the United States,” Genea explains. “We volunteered there, and then we started volunteering at various horse rescues. We saw the need for a large breed dog rescue as well.”
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Bubba, a rescued Saint Bernard is eager for Genea's affection and petting. |
Horses and large dogs are hard to place in traditional shelters and rescues because of their size and unique needs, so Genea and Bill decided to open their home to animals who otherwise would have no place. In September 2006, they incorporated Hooves and Paws Rescue. The non-profit organization operates out of their home in Mills County. They’ve recently been donated additional land which adjoins their acreage and Genea speaks of future plans for an indoor riding arena, more kennel, barn, and corral space.
“Getting into rescue is huge if you are going to do it correctly,” Genea explains. “The business plan is critical because you have to figure out how many horses you can take realistically. You have to figure out how much will it take to feed them, to pay the vet bills. You have to develop the network. It is huge.”
Dog rescues regularly are inspected by the Department of Agriculture, but no inspection process exists for horse rescues. Consequently, some are overloaded with horses. In fact, Genea and Bill’s first animals came from another horse rescue facility which was overloaded.
“We actually bought them to get them out of there,” Genea explains, pointing to Annabelle and Shooter, calmly walking in the corral.
Why a no-kill rescue? That decision was easy, according to Genea.
“I feel it takes so long to heal,” she says. “It can take years for them to heal. Whatever was done to them did not happen overnight. They will not heal overnight.”
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Genea shares a moment with Annabelle, her first rescue horse. Annabelle's previous owner had beaten her in the face with a board. |
Currently, Genea and Bill have 22 horses and dogs on-site and another 48 animals in foster homes. Almost all of the animals come to them suffering from malnutrition and starvation. Most have been beaten and otherwise abused.
For example, Memphis, a mastiff who rises up on his hind paws to look most men in the eye, came out of a drug house following his owner’s arrest and subsequent imprisonment. “Trained” as a guard dog, he has accepted Genea and Bill as his family but is aggressive with others. In a traditional rescue, he would be deemed unadoptable and put down. But Genea and Bill keep working with him.
“Will he be adoptable?” Genea says. “I think so, but it may take years.”
Genea and Bill’s latest on-site arrivals are three Percherons. River, the baby at more than 1300 pounds, was so malnourished he had two sets of teeth: His baby teeth had never fallen out.
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Eager for attention, the dogs watch Genea approach. |
As she walks around in the corral area, Genea points to each horse, noting its history and pointing out physical scars from abuse. Whip marks on one. A knife wound on another. The true depth of her passion for these animals shows through as the now-trusting horses nuzzle against her. Across the fence, the dogs bark and beg for their attention. She does the same for them, pointing out each one and offering his or her abuse history.
Genea and Bill explain that today’s economy has created a horse crisis because many well-meaning horse owners find themselves unable to care for their horses. They cannot sell them or, in many cases, give them away, so they let them starve. Still others, have been beaten because uneducated owners did not know how to train them. Many large breed dogs end up in rescues because uneducated owners did not realize how big they would get or how much care a large breed dog requires.
“The Saint Bernards, the mastiffs, the Rottweilers, these are the ones that people get as puppies because they’re so cute and for the first three years, they’re puppies,” Genea explains. “They’re big, strong, playful, and people just don’t realize. Then they put them on chains and you get aggression issues.”
Others come from dog-fighting situations or are injured out of simple cruelty.
“We see a lot of starvation and a lot of beating,” Genea says.
Hooves and Paws takes referrals from law enforcement or the general public. Genea keeps track of numerous volunteer foster homes and works with a wide network of volunteer transports. She speaks highly of the Hooves and Paws board of directors, and the associated trainers, farriers, and veterinarians who work with the couple. Hooves and Paws is supported completely by donations. When they are not rescuing animals, Genea is an accountant by trade and Bill has been with Pepsi-Cola for 30 years.
“My hope is to do this full-time,” Genea explains. “To have some laws changed and to keep educating people. You can’t change the world, just two people. But all these big organizations didn’t start as big organizations. They started as one or two people who had a vision.”
For more information on Hooves and Paws, visit their website, www.hoovespaws.org. You can call 712-527-3721 or email info@hoovespaws.org if you want to volunteer or make a donation.