The adventures of Tom Sawyer

Rounded up and herded onto a rattling “livestock” truck, his extended family had become slaughterhouse bound. Fear and confusion gripped these sensitive, sentient beings. The young ones were trampled, the old ones crammed, and those like our Tom Sawyer found themselves in a state of high alert, adrenaline surging through their veins.

More and more, we are learning of animals who, when faced with certain death, choose life. They run for it, as fast as their agile legs can carry them. Piecing together Tom’s story, this seems to be exactly what happened—Tom Sawyer chose life.

Good-hearted but frightened, he sought refuge along the edge of a roadside treed verge. Here, life became a delicate balance between hope and heartache. The trees and grass offered a modicum of sustenance, but the busy roadside was a constant reminder of the lurking danger, an invitation for death to catch up.

Yet, dear Tom’s defiant will to live reached the right heart—a kind-hearted pound worker who ensured that it was a sedative dart, not a fast-moving car, that brought him to safety.

Rushed by the shooter of that dart, Manfred Zabinskas of Five Freedoms Animal Rescue, to sanctuary while still groggy, Tom was met with care, compassion and a straw-filled stall. Seizing this opportunity of calm, we set to work on his intake procedures: hoof trimming, delousing and parasite treatment. As the young fellow slowly came around, we were relieved to see that our gestures of kindness had already touched him as he was not quite as frightened as we had expected.

Staring out at us with his gentle eyes, a cute black spot on his nose gave him a mischievous charm. His handsome white beard added a touch of swashbuckling flair, while a firm stamp of his hoof seemed to declare, “I’m here, and I intend to live”.

And that we most certainly will respect, for although Tom Sawyer may not yet realise it, this is sanctuary. Here, his agency will be honoured as best we can within the bounds of what is possible. No longer will he need to run from the life he deserves. No longer will his story be one of near escape, but of true freedom.

For at sanctuary, Tom has found his forever home, a place where every hoof-beat echoes the defiant rhythm of life itself.