North Texas

North Texas Girl and Her Horse Receive Unexpected Gift

There is just something about a girl and her horse.

For 15-year-old McKenzie Whitaker and her horse Ozzie, that something is a bond forged in trust.

“I don’t think I would be the same person without him. I don’t think I could do it without him,” said Whitaker.

Ozzie is Whitaker’s first horse and the reason she’s fallen in love with the rodeo. The two are one in the arena and recently Ozzie helped Whitaker win her first buckle.

“He takes care of me in everything we do and I take care of him,” said Whitaker.

So when Ozzie suddenly became sick last month, Whitaker rushed him to the vet at Outlaw Equine Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in Decatur.  

The diagnosis was grim and surgery was too expensive.

Whitaker's only option was to put down her 22-year-old companion.

“I couldn’t breathe. The thought of me going out to feed every morning and every night, not seeing him in that stall is what killed me.”

Veterinarian Dr. Josh Harvey watched Whitaker say her tearful goodbye to Ozzie, then turned to his team.

“You watch a young lady and her horse and sometimes you look and say this is what it’s really about,” said Harvey. “I could see the horse wanted to live and it was just something I felt like we needed to do.”

The staff worked through the night, donating their time to perform a tedious surgery to save Ozzie’s life and in the morning, surprised Whitaker.

“I started crying because Josh saved my best friend and I don’t think I could do life without him beside me,” Whitaker said.

The girl and her horse are once again inseparable, putting their trust in each other, thanks to the kindness of others.

Whitaker and her family did not have to pay a dime for Ozzie’s surgery. Once Ozzie is done recuperating, the two plan to get back in the rodeo arena this summer.

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