This handsome fellow is Chico ... and he is Guardian Hearts' Covid-19 story. Every cloud has a silver lining...and sometimes FAITH can be restored just when you despair & lose HOPE. He is an 18 year old Paso Fino gelding, has lived almost all his life with one family. He had a Mom, Dad, and family who loved him, spoiled him, cared for him, and made sure he was safe. He had herdmates who he lived with, and dogs, and cats, and life was good. As the years went by, some of his companions were lost to age, and I am certain that he felt those losses keenly, but always his rocks were there to soothe away the troubles with treats, groomings, good hay and feed, and more love & attention. By the beginning of 2020, he was alone now, the last of his companions, age was catching up to him, he had lost the vision in his right eye, there were no more rides, but it was ok because his family was still there and he was so very loved. Then tragedy struck. Covid-19 hits the USA, and in short order it sweeps through North Carolina. And while Chico knew nothing about this virus, he did know that one day Mom stopped coming to the pasture, Dad was barely there and very upset. He heard things like "in the hospital" "having surgery" "recovering and doing well" "heading to rehab"...but he still got his feed and hay, his pats and scratches, so all seemed well. But then something bad happened, something that made Dad very sad, so sad Chico could sense the broken heart and his own heart surely reached out hoping to both to give & get support. Chico didn't know anything about the things he'd been hearing, he didn't understand why Mom wasnt coming home, why Dad struggled to care for him with a grieving heart. He reached out to us, and asked us to help when his wife passed from covid during recovery in rehabilitation after surgery. We couldn't bring Chico in yet, we didnt have a place to put him. Rescues are so often full, and we are no exception. That was in April ..Thanks to one of our wonderful volunteers, we managed to get him hay and grain from our hay/feedbank, and sent our vet in to bring him current on vaccines, coggins, and a general once over health check.I asked for him to hold on and have faith, an extremely tall order considering all that he'd been thru. But we never gave up...and neither did Chico's Dad. On July 12th we finally managed to bring him into the rescue farm. He was more than a little confused at first, but he transitioned amazingly well, and he is now out in the big gelding field with Hudson as a buddy, and shortly both Miller & Skywalker will join them. We can see he is gaining confidence daily in his new surroundings, and relaxing. Chico's Dad never gave up on him, or us at GH. Chico is now one of our Haven Heart's, he has a permanent home at Guardian Hearts, and his Dad has an open door welcome to come see him. (He is way too polite to ever just drop in tho LOL). It took a village to help them, from our volunteers, to our beloved vet, and everyone involved...Teamwork is how we succeed and how we make a difference in the lives of these horses. Chico isn't the first local horse we have helped at home when someone reached out, but he is and will always be, one of my best personal memories. And a shining example of how no matter the crisis, when we all pull together we can still make a tremendous difference. Thank you so much RC, for never losing faith