The internet has been left stunned by the resilience of a pregnant and malnourished horse who made a remarkable recovery since being rescued.
With just a matter of days left of her pregnancy, Zirka the horse wasn't given any of the usual comforts to help her relax before going into labor. Instead, Zirka spent that time in a stressful kill shelter in Kansas, not knowing how much longer she had left.
But after hearing about the "pregnant, starved horse," Breanna Shirley, 31, of Hamel, Minnesota, knew she had to act as she couldn't bear the thought of the calf being born in a slaughterhouse. Shirley, who owns a nonprofit organization called Healing with Horseplay, told Newsweek that she drove "25 hours straight, with no sleep" to reach Zirka and spare her life in May.
She was in terrible condition at the time, and Shirley didn't hesitate before taking her back to her ranch and beginning the recovery.
"I drove to Kansas over three days by myself to bring Zirka and her baby to safety," Shirley said. "When I met her at the kill shelter, I was just amazed at how calm, wise and put together she was mentally, given her disgraceful situation.
"She came with a broken pelvis, lymphedema, an emaciated body, lice, rotting skin everywhere and thrush. From the moment she arrived at our ranch, she was taken care of every day by me and the vets."
Shirley couldn't gain any information about Zirka's history from the kill shelter. The only thing she knew was that she was "only two weeks from giving birth."
After bringing her to the safety of the Healing with Horseplay ranch, Shirley explained that she slept on the floor of the barn every night until Zirka's calf was finally born. Despite all the odds and going through so much distress during her pregnancy, Zirka welcomed a healthy boy, who was named Mugatu.
While Shirley and her team couldn't fix Zirka's broken pelvis, they still made it their objective to give her "the best life possible." Needless to say, that's exactly what she and her calf now have as they gallop around the fields with each other and the other horses. They also get to relax in the barn and meet plenty of people who come to meet the animals at the ranch.
The TikTok Reaction
Shirley shared a video on TikTok (@bree_hwhp) showing Zirka's remarkable transformation since being rescued, and the clip went viral with over 1.2 million views and more than 235,500 likes so far.
"Shortly after rescuing Zirka, I hired an animal communicator to talk with her. Ironically, Zirka told the animal communicator that she was meant to be a star and an influencer, then a month later, her video went viral," Shirley told Newsweek.
Perhaps Zirka was destined to share her story all along and show the importance of animal rescue. Life once looked very different for the poor horse, but now that is all in the past and she completely encompasses "what strength looks like."
The viral TikTok video has undoubtedly touched plenty of hearts online, leading to more than 11,600 comments at the time of writing.
One comment reads: "That's such an amazing story, thank you so much for saving her."
Another person wrote: "Most beautiful thing I have ever seen!"
While another TikToker added: "She deserves never-ending happiness."
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