
In loving memory of our sweet
Buddy
Rest in Peace Sweet Boy 1995-2025
Click on this flyer to see more beautiful pictures of Buddy
”When I think of Buddy, I think of a wonderful life. How many of us can say we awake in the morning and see our best friend Beau. How many of us can say that each day of our life, we are surrounded by wonderful people who take care of us. And how about the opportunity to just roll in the dirt any time of the day.”
Richard Serani……..Volunteer
“Sometimes with all the work involved in running and supporting the farm, we forget that we are making it possible for these beautiful creatures of God to be able to have a safe and happy life. Thank you to all of the volunteers who make that possible.”
Marilyn O’Connell……Volunteer

Sanctuary Residents
Mills River Rescue and Sanctuary currently has 11 permanent residents
*Click on each pony/donkey and enjoy a gallery of pictures showing them living their best life.
Jolie
Jolie is a senior Shetland pony that is at MRR due to her insulin resistance. She takes daily medications to help manage the condition. Jolie struggles with laminitis which is caused by the insulin resistance. She wears special boots to help her walk comfortably and relieves any pain.
Grace
Grace is a standard donkey who was rescued from a kill pen in Pennsylvania. Grace had trust issues, was fearful of people, and considered dangerous when she came to MRR. Grace will live out the rest of her life here at MRR due to her past history. She is a different donkey and has made amazing progress. Grace has found love and trust at MRR. She loves all our visitors.
Poppy
Poppy is a young miniature horse. She was rescued from a farm that was being investigated for neglect. Poppy loves people and often goes to visit local nursing homes bringing the residents so much joy.
Marilyn
Marilyn is a 19 year old miniature Sicilian donkey. Marilyn was raised by a pony at her first home and the pony passed away. She came to MRR and bonded with Tinkerbelle. Marilyn struggles with her weight and is on medication to help with her thyroid. Marilyn loves her bum scratched!
Tinkerbelle
Tinkerbelle is a 45 year old Shetland pony. Tinkerbelle was rescued by Patti before MRR was a 501c3 rescue. Tinkerbelle loves her pony friends. Her best friend is Marilyn the Sicilian donkey. She is a very healthy old pony because of the love and care she receives at MRR.
Precious
Precious is a young miniature horse. She is very beautiful and has two blue eyes. She is our beautiful unicorn mascot for the rescue. She often asks, “Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who’s the fairest of them all?” “Of course its you, Precious!” Her best friends are Sweetness and her mom Patti.
Sweetness
Sweetness is a POA (Pony of America). Sweetness suffers from insulin resistance as well as uveitis (inflammation of the eye). She has some arthritis in her back legs and hips. Sweetness sees a chiropractor to help her move better. She takes daily medication to help control her conditions. Sweetness wears a special UV mask to protect her eyes from the sun. Sweetness has her eyes checked regularly to monitor if there is any further progression with her uveitis.
Romeo
Romeo is a pony/mini cross. Romeo suffers from insulin resistance that has caused damage to the laminae in his hooves. This inflammation to the laminae has caused changes to the coffin bone. Romeo wears special boots designed to help relieve the pain from the laminitis. He receives medications daily to help manage his condition.
Beau
Beau is a senior Shetland pony. He is at MRR due to his medical conditions, cushings and insulin resistance. Beau needs medication daily to keep these conditions under control. He is a sweet pony that was rescued from local folks that fell on hard times.
Louie
Louie is a senior Falabella miniature horse in his twenties. He will live out the rest of his life here at MRR. Louie may be small but he is large and in charge of all the ponies at the rescue. He is a fan favorite with the children. Louie loves everyone that he meets. His best friend is Beau.
Lollipop is a senior Shetland pony that has had a very difficult life. A local rescue saved her from an auction in Pennsylvania. The rescue found her a new family but that family abandoned her and moved away leaving Lolly behind! Lolly was taken back to the original rescue, where she was adopted by Becky, who had an alpaca, goats and sheep. But Lolly had terrible trust issues and needed other ponies to help her heal. Becky reached out to MRR for help and brought Lolly to live out the rest of her life here. Lolly has made amazing progress. Becky continues to be a part of her life as she is now volunteering at MRR.
Lollipop

Rehomed…….
MRR has rehomed over 35 ponies and donkeys since 2017.
Blue
Blue is a young Pony of America that was rescued from an auction in Pennsylvania. At the time of his rescue at 3 years old, Blue was a still a stallion. During his quarantine he was gelded so he could be adopted. Blue is very fearful of people. So letting us catch him and putting on his halter was very difficult. With lots of kindness and love, Blue learned to trust! Blue now lives with his mom Lauren and her Mustangs. Lauren has extensive experience training horses and she is a perfect match for Blue and has continued his training.
Angel
Angel was saved from an auction in Pennsylvania on Christmas Eve. She was believed to be a Amish cart pony. She had a hard life there and was fearful of people. Angel found her perfect home with a family in New Hampshire where she is loved by their family horse, Rosie. Angel had Richard and Christine, two of our volunteers, sponsor her. They worked with her to help her overcome her fear of people.
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a POA (Pony of America). She was rescued from auction in Pennsylvania. Cinnamon was very timid and fearful when she came to MRR. She has a wonderful home where she is loved by her new family.
Penny
Penny is living in Falmouth and enjoying her visits from the local 4H group where they learn how to lead and groom horses. She loves having her mane braided and is a very patient teacher. Penny was rescued in 2016.
Brodie
Brodie was rescued in 2016. He lives in Rhode Island with his mom, Sharon, and a big horse companion named Jack. He is doing great.
Josephine
Nappers
Sometimes rescue can be helping friends in need when they are in crisis. A good friend fell ill and couldn’t take care of Nappers and Josephine. MRR cared for them until their owner was strong enough to take them back. Josephine has uveitis (inflammation of the eye) and needs to wear a UV mask to protect her eyes from the sun. Nappers is on a diet to loose a little of his belly.
Before
After
Whinny and Neighthan
In 2020, this pair of sibling baby ponies were saved by Mills River Rescue from an auction in New Holland, PA, where some animals are sold for slaughter. They were terrified and feral, never having been handled by humans. Their coats were matted and covered in burs. Their feet had never been trimmed and they were bloated with worms. They were fostered locally on Cape Cod. Socializing them was a challenging process, but extremely rewarding because once they gained trust in humans, they became the sweetest and friendliest little darlings. Their foster family fell so deeply in love that they couldn’t help but adopt them! The family is very grateful to Patti at Mills River Rescue for saving Whinny and Neighthan, and so many others.
Halle Berry
This is Halle Berry known by friends at MRR as “Halle the Gangsta”! Thanks to their kindness, patience and dedication to ponies like Halle, her nickname no longer suits her since being rescued. She’s learned to trust and love the humans and animals around her. In 2018 Halle was adopted and since then has been spoiled by her mom and continues to grow into the happy, healthy pony she is today. Halle has had many fun adventures and can’t wait to see what’s next! Thank you MRR for all that you do for ponies like Halle. 💓
Francis, Jackson, and Buttons
Buttons, Jackson, and Francis were saved from auction by a kind man. He wasn’t equipped to provide for the needs of the donkeys so he surrendered them to MRR. After settling in and getting proper hoof and medical care, all three donkeys have new homes.
Jackson lives here on Cape Cod, in Brewster, with his new mom, Judy and her family. He lives with his donkey buddy, Duncan and lots of crazy goats. Judy’s daughter often takes Jackson for walks to get the mail.
Buttons and Francis were adopted by Bee Haven Farm in Rhode Island. Francis lives with a herd of donkeys. Francis has made friends with Pepe and they play all the time.
The farrier at Bee Haven Farm, fell in love with Buttons. Buttons now lives with him and his wife and is spoiled rotten. He is a companion to their family horse.
Vinny
Vinny was rescued as a baby by Mills River Rescue after being found in a neglect case. He was adopted in 2021, and his owner is incredibly grateful to MRR for the work they do, as Vinny has been a wonderful addition to her family. He now resides at Alliance Equestrian Center, where he has two playmates, Ollie and Rosco, with whom he spends his days running and playing, forming an inseparable trio. A quick learner, Vinny is always eager to do his job, making him an absolute pleasure to work with. His favorite activity is running free in the arena, bucking and calling out to anyone who will listen, which showcases the goofy side of this spunky gelding. Vinny has made appearances at local nursing and group homes, and most recently, he participated in a meet-and-greet event for local veterans. Perhaps the most remarkable part of Vinny’s personality is his ability to connect with people. His calm and quiet demeanor creates a therapeutic space, offering comfort and peace to those around him. This summer, he will participate in competitions at local shows with some of the younger riders at Alliance. The future is bright for this incredible mini, all thanks to Mills River Rescue for giving Vinny the chance to have a forever home.
Sammy
In 2017, Mills River Rescue took in a sweet 2 year old pinto mini. He came from the auction and very much needed love and care. He took a strong liking to all of the children. He was easy to take off property and was waiting to be adopted. Patti shared a post of his picture and when his future mom saw it, she knew he was the one. He soon became Sammy. He and his mom became a very close team and learned to drive together. Sammy has had lots of horse friends of all different sizes. He is adored by all everywhere he goes. He is loved, cherished and spoiled every step of the way as every mini should be.
Harvey
Harvey is doing very well. Unfortunately his new family lost their dear Fuzzy (his big buddy) a year ago last September and though he's by himself, he's made a friend with their family dog, Sadie. Harvey follows her around and is definitely a charmer/lover with any female company. He also has his woods friends, the deer. His family also learned that he does like taking walks with his Dad, Paul, on their wood trails. He's living the life♥️
Connie
Connie was adopted in 2018. She is the new boss and runs the paddock. She is a little hay hog and jumps up into the goat house to eat all the goat's hay. She always follows her mom around everywhere looking for a treat or 2😂. When her mom is cleaning the stalls she stands by the side door until she gets her treat. She loves to be brushed and just stands without a halter while her mom brushes her, as a line forms for the next in line for a brushing. Tempist and Connie love each other along with the goats......Lidia, Bo and Duke, and Meadow. She has come such a long way and is very loving towards her new family.
Roscoe
Rosco was rescued by Mills River Rescue as an extremely fearful senior mini. Throughout his life, he had been handled very little and only taken out of his paddock for medical procedures, which led him to associate people with fear. Rosco found his forever home at Alliance Equestrian Center, where he lives alongside his fellow rescue buddies, Ollie and Vinny.
Since his arrival, Rosco has made an incredible transformation, and it's hard to believe he is the same mini. With a great deal of love and patience, he went from running away from people to eagerly greeting anyone who walks around the barn. As he learned to trust, Rosco’s sweet and gentle personality truly began to shine.
He has since visited local nursing and group homes, participated in a meet-and-greet with local veterans, and even took part in the Barnstable County Fair, all while maintaining a calm and composed demeanor. His gentle nature has made him a favorite at every event.
Roscoe’s new family is deeply grateful to Mills River Rescue for allowing them to give Rosco the endless love and care he so richly deserves.
Piper
Piper is incredible. She is brave she has done now three summer camps. She has worked teaching kids how to lunge a horse and works at liberty. She went from being untouchable and having to be roped to be caught, from jumping over 6 foot fences to get away from people, and kicking everyone. Now she is literally being our 35 year-old pony’s protector. She will never leave us and she will forever be one of her mom’s greatest achievements and best decisions. Her mom is so thankful for MRR and all of the volunteers for giving Piper a safe place, getting her training to help her mom through some of the toughest transitions of her life. Her mom knew Piper had a safe place while her mom made some big moves. ❤️
Sponsorships
Home