Double B Equine Rescue: A love story

INDUSTRY – The Double B operation is easy to spot from the road. Just look for the horses.

Franklin County’s only equine rescue, Double B has been saving animals from destitute owners, state-prosecuted abuse cases and the slaughterhouse for the past six years. It is a place of healing for horses and, occasionally, people as well.

Brenda Dubois and Linwood “Lenny” Green run the rescue, a non-profit organization that operates entirely off of donations. They met a couple years ago, when Green and his wife were at the rescue looking to adopt a pair of horses. Double B was being run by Dubois and her husband at the time. Then one day, in June 2008, Dubois called her husband at the rescue.

“I called home at 1 p.m., told him we needed to have a talk,” Dubois recalled. “He said, ‘I’ll see you then.'”

When Dubois got off work and returned to the rescue, her husband was gone, along with the truck and Green’s wife.

“It was a tidal wave,” Dubois said. “It hit me like a tidal wave.”

Dubois, who still supported the rescue through a full-time job, was desperate. To make matters worse, her part-time help quit, leaving no one to work with the horses during the day. The amount of attention the animals need is enormous; feeding, watering, grooming, exercising. Many of the horses have special needs as well, as abuse cases often come in with disabilities like deafness, blindness, special nutritional requirements and other issues.

Concerned about the future of Double B, Dubois called Green and asked him if he could help out until the rescue could get back on its feet. Green, a retired police officer, agreed.

“He saved the rescue,” Dubois said.

Months passed and the two worked to manage the rescue’s horses, assisted by the occasional volunteer or University of Maine at Farmington students. The rescue has acquired, rehabilitated and released as many as 75 horses in six years of operation. Currently there are 17 animals at the Double B, including simple lodgers, sick or injured animals being cared for and permanent residents; horses that aren’t likely to ever leave due to their condition.

Last August, Green asked Dubois to marry him.

“He said we get along really well,” Dubois said. “We’re not getting any younger. Let’s do it.”

A board member of the Double B’s seven-member board, who is also a Justice of the Peace, married Green and Dubois in a pasture at the rescue. Surrounded by horses, of course. Dubois said they ate her bouquet of flowers.

Dubois intends to retire from her job and devote all of her time to helping Green run the rescue. One of her wedding gifts was a new pair of boots, and the pair have already staked out who is responsible for each barn.

“Did you tell him why you want the little barn?” Green asked Dubois, leading a pint-sized horse into the structure.

“Smaller horses, I told him,” Dubois replied, laughing.

“Smaller poop,” Green corrected.

The rescue’s animals come from all sorts of places. Some are well-treated, but their owner’s sickness, financial situation or death left them without a home. Others were abused, sometimes seized by the state in ongoing custody battles, and have a variety of ailments that need to be addressed. Still others are simply dumped outside the gates.

With the economic downturn, Double B has seen the number of people calling in with requests to relocate animals to the rescue spike dramatically. In October, Dubois said, three to four requests were coming in every week. The rescue takes in as many as it can, but is limited both in terms of space and money. A horse can easily cost as much as $200 per month, assuming it remains in perfect health. Supported through a network of donors and the occasional donation from local businesses, Double B has often had to turn away requests in order to focus on animals in real danger. 

“When these horses leave here, they’re totally different,” Green said. He and Dubois can recount examples of their successes, the happy families who now care for their former wards. They maintain scrapbooks, with every picture of a horse accompanied by stories; accomplishments touted by proud parents.

“People tell us that we should get out more,” Dubois said, smiling at Green. “Bet you never expected to work with horses after retiring.”

“They’re better than most people,” he said.

As Green put away the horses, each one being addressed by name and mannerisms by Dubois, he noted that Double B had more than its share of happy endings.

“A lot of good stories,” he said, “Horses that turned out pretty good. Good stories.”

And some don’t involve horses at all.

To find out more about the Double B rescue effort, go to mainehorserescue.com or call them at 778-6479. The facility is located at 997 West Mills Road (Rt. 148) in Industry. The rescue also issues a quarterly newsletter, which can be signed up for through the Web site or by mailing Double B.