Local animal rescue reeling from barn roof collapse

FARGO — The Faulkner family has been running the show at the Pride and Joy Rescue for years. The whole family are lifelong animal lovers.

"I like playing with them," Rob Faulkner said. "I mean, it's just brings out the kid in me."

So the last few days here have taken a toll, on both the animals and the Faulkners.

After taking care of a sick horse Thursday, March 2, on Friday, March 3, the roof of their barn collapsed, likely crushed under the weight of the 13 inches of snow from the storm earlier in the week.

"This barn is these horses' home, it's the goats' home," Connie Faulkner said. "It's home to several birds, it's home for several of our cats. Some choice words came out of my mouth when I came through the door and saw it, and my heart just sank."

It's turned business as usual at the rescue upside down.

The goats are being temporarily housed at a barn in Glyndon owned by a friend.

Some of the horses are too old to be adoption candidates, making this their final stop, enjoying the final years of their life in comfort.

Others receive training before finding their forever homes, and that's just not possible without the barn.

Fortunately, all the horses and humans at the rescue are safe and sound. It's the closest thing to a silver lining that they have right now.

"I'm looking over at the temp pens where Java and Jude and Beau would be," Connie Faulkner said. "There wouldn't be anything left of them if they were in there."

They'll do an insurance assessment soon.

"(That will) hopefully give us some good news that, you know, it can be repaired and we can get it all fixed back up and ready to go as soon as possible," Rob Faulkner said.

For now, their number one priority is making sure all the animals are still as comfortable as possible.

Despite the heartbreak, this is the Faulkner family's passion. Funnily enough, Connie Faulkner told WDAY, the animals have been taking care of their humans as much as the the humans have been taking care of them.

"Animals know when you've had a bad day, they know when you're sad," she said. "They know when you need something, and they're just there, they don't judge you. They don't care if you don't have your hair done, or if you're wearing pajamas; they just they want to make you feel better."

Barn or not, the Faulkners will do their best to return the favor.

The shelter is accepting donations to help pay their insurance deductible.

You can make a donation via venmo, @prideandjoyrescue, or via paypal, at prideandjoyrescue@gmail.com.