Charlie’S Courage

By Eldon Massie and Sonny Heston

The frail little 6 month old filly was a last minute rescue and in poor condition when she came to live at Flanagan Farms.
Trish Flanagan named her Charlie and the name suited the sassy pony.
Charlie had been thoughtlessly neglected and abandoned but with some special care and lots of love, Charlie became the finest and most beautiful horse Trish had ever seen.
Charlie's smarts, loyalty and courage inspired her story and she continues to amaze those that know and lover her.
However, Charlie's story is far from over and the best parts are yet to come.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: May 5, 2014
• ISBN: 9781496908858

Eldon Massie

Eldon Massie is semi-retired and lives in the high desert mountains of New Mexico with his mixed Jack Russel terrier Lucy. It was the stark beauty and romantic history of the area that inspired Eldon to fufill a life long dream and begin a new saga in his life by writing stories for children and to keep that inner child in himself alive.

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© 2014 Eldon Massie. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 05/02/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4969-0889-6 (sc)

978-1-4969-0885-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014907998

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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This book is dedicated with many thanks to

Trish Dunagan,

for her inspiration, and

Lee Crandall,

the first real cowboy I ever knew.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 1

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Everything has a season. For Trish and Glen Flanagan, this was to be the season of Cha rlie.

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She’s not much more than a bag of bones, Trish. You might want to think about this. Animal Control Officer Charles Mather looked at his friend with a little concern; he suddenly had a pang of guilt for even asking her to come out here. He knew that Trish Flanagan was no fool, but he also knew she had a soft touch when it came to horses. This little six-month-old filly was in need of a lot of tender-loving care, and the vet bills could cost a pretty penny. Even then, the little girl might not even live beyond the next few days.

Can you give me some odds? Trish asked, raising her left brow.

You’ll need a vet’s opinion for that, but I have some doubts about this one. She’s gone awhile without proper grass, and this stuff hasn’t provided much nutrition. Officer Mather kicked at the dried foliage that grew in the fenced-in pasture, which was smaller than ten acres. He was being honest, but he also wanted this horse to have a chance at life. He felt justified again.

Trish Flanagan eyed the pasture and then the abandoned filly. She tried to weigh the odds herself and then came to a quick conclusion. If she walked away, the young horse would surely be put down, or she could take a chance on this poor girl and take her home. She saw something in the horse’s eyes. Was this filly speaking to her with those eyes that looked almost human? Whatever it was, the eyes won her over.

Help me load her up? She smiled at her friend Charles.

Sure thing, I’ll get the trailer. He turned and walked toward his horse trailer. Inside himself, he jumped for joy. He’d started out to this remote place to take a much neglected horse to be put down, but for some reason, he was hesitant to go through with it. He wanted to give this filly every chance he could, and he was hoping Trish would provide that chance. She had the pasture and the water, but most of all, Trish had the heart.

You got a lot of ’splainin to do! Trish said out loud to herself as she followed the trailer carrying her new project back to her farm. It was actually their farm. Trish’s brother, Glen, was half owner and sort of the sane and reasonable one of the partnership. He’d be a little put out that she had made this decision without talking to him first, but she also knew that she would get her way more often than not. She was dreading the look on her brother’s face when she reached the farm with the horse, but more than that, she dreaded the way he would quietly turn and walk away, shaking his head. Just the same, though, she’d