To say that Lady Bug has had a rough past would be a gross understatement. When long-time Red Bucket supporter and real-life Guardian Angel Liz witnessed first-hand the horrendous mistreatment of this precious 10-year-old quarter horse mare at the hands of her captors, she intervened immediately, offering up a large amount of her own money to get Lady Bug away from her abusive situation. Of course, then she needed a place for the mare to go and a way to get her there. Thus,  Liz’s next call was to Red Bucket for help with moving Lady Bug to the Ranch in Chino Hills and ultimately into a new forever home.
However, when we arrived in the largely residential neighborhood where this poor horse was being kept in a small backyard, Lady Bug was so angry and fed up with people that we couldn’t even convince her to walk into our trailer without risking the safety of all involved. This is all too understandable once you learn that she had previously been forced (beaten, really!) into a pony trailer three times too small for her size, resulting in a horrific gash across her forehead from ear to ear, the scar from which is visible to this day. On top of that she was a new mom whose young foal had just been ripped away from her. So, we didn’t blame her one bit for her reluctance and simply walked away quietly only to come right back the next day with more carrots, kind words and a lot of patience and empathy. Eventually Lady Bug decided on her own to trust us enough to come away with us and walked into the trailer voluntarily. Lo and behold, during the hour-long ride back to the Ranch, a sort of transformation happened inside that trailer.
In went a horse full of mistrust and anger with a cold, hard look in her eyes. But when we arrived, out came an almost completely different horse who took in her new surroundings with curiosity
followed by the deepest, loudest sigh of relief any of us had ever heard. Her eyes softened instantly as she enthusiastically walked into her new, airy stall with the fresh, soft bedding where we found her lying down in utter bliss not even five minutes later, possibly for the first time in a very long time. It seemed the minute Lady Bug made up her mind to walk into our trailer, she also decided to leave her past behind her once and for all, and she hasn’t looked back since.
When our friend, long-time Red Bucket volunteer and Feed Crew Coordinator, Diana Harper met this big girl with the beautiful baby doll face, broad blaze and (now) bright eyes, she felt as if she
had found her long-lost soul mate. The minute Diana found out that Lady Bug was available for adoption, she grabbed Susan and told her she had to have her. Susan noticed a dramatic change in
the mare’s demeanor as well whenever she was around Diana. Perhaps these two can relate to each other well on a much deeper level, for Diana is no stranger to hardship and adversity herself.
Today, Diana says, just everything about her big girl brings her joy: her first nicker when she realized she belonged to Diana, how happy she gets when she sees her mom and how she comes running as soon as Diana calls her. “Even when she’s turned out and I’m in the golf cart or passing in my car she follows,” gushes Diana. “I nicknamed her my Missy Bug.” Diana wants all the volunteers and team at Red Bucket to know how much she appreciates everything they do for her baby girl and all the other horses and donkeys there!

Diana’s friend and fellow volunteer/adopter Susanna notes how devoted Diana is to Lady Bug and how committed she is to helping her overcome her prior life to feel safe and comfortable. She states, “Lady Bug is in a good place and has a great mom, and for a horse it doesn’t get much better than that! She has Red Bucket and Diana by her side.” Diana is looking forward to the future working with Lady Bug under saddle and going on trail rides. For now, she says, “I just want to be with Lady Bug, groom her, love her, walk with her and make her feel safe and secure.”
Like for many of us, Diana’s biggest challenge is finding enough free time. Between her job, her volunteer duties at the Ranch and the drive time between her house and Chino Hills, it’s difficult
to carve out as much time with her Missy Bug as she would like. But they’re working it out and making the most of the time they do have together. Whenever he’s in town, Diana’s son Jason makes a beeline to the Ranch to visit with their furry gal. In fact, Diana tells us that Jason is actually the person to whom Lady Bug became attached first, and she admits to feeling just a teensy bit jealous of their connection in the beginning. Besides finally being able to call Lady Bug her own, Diana says the best part about the adoption process was going “horse shopping” with Jason for the very first time as soon as it was finalized.
We’ve all experienced hurt, anger, betrayal or worse. The brave and forgiving Lady Bug shows us that we too, all of us, can make the decision right now to let bygones be bygones, leave the past
behind and simply focus on the present like enjoying a good roll in a mound of fresh, clean bedding, a handful of carrots, a  cratch behind the ears or a leisurely walk in the sunshine with our favorite companion.