We recently connected with April McNeely and have shared our conversation below.

April, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

At McNeely Farmily Rescue and Sanctuary it is our mission to assist the disabled, trauma cases or special needs animals in need. We bought the property to expand from just domestic animals to agricultural as well, as we took in a disabled baby goat from Georgia that nobody thought would live. When we see an animal who is different, or has suffered a trauma, we immediately care for the animal with a specially tailored program for that specific animal.
My husband is a double amputee himself. A few things that we have learned from him being an amputee is that every disabled individual is different, and that every individuals need for caretaker is only fruitful with time, patience and understanding.
We give time, patience and understanding to every moment with all of these animals on their own different and personal level.
This year, in 2024, we are driving the motto “Pawspective” hard into a few new programs and we are going to do all that we can to improve the animal issues that our city is suffering from.
Implementing these programs and offering services to our residences of Plant City, we hope to give aid to our community and slow or cease the public panic that can happen with the emotions that are given when we come upon animals who need rescue.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

We started our rescue as a personally driven desire to assist those who are different, discarded and overlooked. We provide rescue, rehabilitation and retirement to the rescues who are disabled, victims of trauma or special needs. We do not have a rescue that operates on numbers coming in and out. Because a lot of these rescues don’t have a “forever plan” and need someone to keep watch on their needs, they are brought in for a retirement place where they will receive what they deserve to have had all along. We get the dogs who are missing parts from dog fighting rings. The dogs who were in an accident or blown up. The goats who had their horns burned through by an amateur, resulting in brain damage. We trap the cats that are in extreme medical need. Those animals need time, understanding and love while they receive medical attention. Last year at the end of June we started our TNR Plant City program. We trap the ferals in our community and neuter/spay them, vaccinate them and treat them for wounds and return them to their location to live out their lives. TNR saves lives by reducing the population increase, preventing spread of disease, and allowing cats to live harmoniously in a stable colony mindset versus fighting for dominance and mating. The homeowners are happier to have a relaxed colony and no more spraying. Between late June to mid December of 2023 we TNR’d 289 cats from our local communities.
Our rescue is a family owned and operated rescue. It’s just 3 of us who run most of our day to day operations, and we have this year taken on a 12 person team and are also inviting volunteers for transportation and the trapping program, as we are hoping to triple that number from last year and clean this city up.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

This is a tough one to choose from. Every rescue that we take in is equally so special to us and they all deserve their story to be told. I am going to choose Link. I’m choosing Link because his journey in with us is inspiration for one of the programs we are implementing this year to create awareness and help dogs at our local shelter. Link came from Pet Resource Center. He was picked up in the field by animal control as a dumped dog. If you saw Link, (which I encourage you to look him up), your heart would immediately react. His body was hairless and degraded. His skin was crinkled with bloody and infected sores. His face was sunken in, emaciated as a dog with cancer would look. He could barely move. His X-rays showed that he had eaten sticks, stones, sediment and lizards. Rhonda Eldridge with Community Pet Project saw Link and reached out to us immediately. Cancer was the stigma he wore on his face and broken down body. Neglect was the why he lived as if he had only one more day left. We did daily skin treatments and got him to eat, and he put weight on. He had his biopsy and we got a diagnosis of Calcinosis Cutis, not cancer! We started treatment and he got better. He got the new Librela shot for his arthritis and he got even better. Life was great and Link was thriving. His gentle soul and his determination to trot with us around the yard was so admirable and exactly why we do what we do. We kept testing him as he got better and found he had Cushings. The treatments for Cushings is a tough one. Link’s little body eventually gave out and he passed away. He lived like a King who could trot for the time he was here, rather than laying down in pain and covered in sores. We would take 100 Links and give them the days they deserved. We will be starting a program in Link’s name called “Missing Link Movement” where we assist with the dogs in the shelter that Link came from.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media is such a gamble these days because you don’t know whether it will hurt you or help you. You don’t know what’s true and what’s not. We make our videos about our rescues from our “farmily” perspective because these animals who don’t have a voice deserve a real display of the “why”, the “who” and the “how” it is and can be helped. We have gotten feedback that our videos make people happy. That they have motivated people to understand things differently. People follow these journeys, knowing that their prayers and love changes our lives. Recently, our videos of a senior dog whom we were fostering for the shelter, ended up being why the owner who was looking was reunited with her. This year more than ever we are using our social media to promote awareness for those who don’t have a voice or a choice. Education never stops while you’re still capable of learning. Hopefully our efforts this year leads to huge change in our communities and our hearts.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mcneelyfarmilyrescue.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/mcneelyfarmilyrescue
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100075901556217

Image Credits
Photos are all taken by myself, April McNeely