Notes from a talk with George and Loretta in 2019, by Charmion Harris.
George was 70 years old and living on the Mexican coast, but still dressed like a 20-year-old cowboy – jeans, boots, t-shirt and cowboy hat. He lit one of my cigarettes, taking a long drag as paws of rescue dogs tapped in unison up and down the brick patio. Loretta settled into a chair at the table. She was 14 when she married George.
“How did you pick this country to live?”, I asked, waiving toward the vast Pacific Ocean displaying an enormous backdrop to the bustling Mexican town of La Penita below.
His colorful story begins on a farm in the states after returning from 2 tours in Vietnam. Marriage and children, and Diane Feinstein follow - leading him to a large agricultural project in Mexico.
“I can’t turn nothing down, I’m just that type. I come from a family that worked hard. I just wanted to do good. The reason I come here was because things was too good.”
After two years of working in the hills, George and his crew went looking for the ocean one day. "We headed South til we saw the ocean and pullover for a beer and start talking to a guy. Back then Charmion, it was like you sat down and there was a guy here, and next thing you know there was 2 more guys and so on. By the afternoon, we had a lot of beers. And in conversation, no matter where you’re at, I think real estate comes up. So we started talking about that and the guy asked me a question, “You wanna go look at a place?” “Not really, but how much does it cost?”
(Fast forward through lots more work, long drives back and forth to Mexico as a family, a bad accident and some hard decisions.)
“Honey what I’m gonna do is build apartments for our retirement (then he was 56 years old). So, we built that without any plan to have a resort, let alone restaurant and a bar. We were always bringing an animal home from day one – no matter where we were.”
Then one day a foreigner out for a ride in the Sierra Madre foothills in November 2012 came across a lone horse, standing like a mirage of bones with fur. There were fifteen horses, some dead, in a barren pasture. She rode back and told George and Loretta what she saw.
When they arrived, the lone horse walked away. Minutes later, it returned with 6 other horses, including a young colt whose mother was dead. Within a few days, J.E.E.P. (Jaltemba Equine Education Project) was established, as funds were needed quickly to rescue the horses.
(excerpt briefly from George and Loretta's story here)
Donna, the "foreigner", shared her experience with Charmion in 2024. She and her husband were in La Penita on vacation, and as a self described "horse person", Donna went looking for a horse to ride one day. A cowboy found her instead, coming up behind her on horseback while she was scouring the fields for a horse. Abundiyo was (is) the cowboy's name. Neither spoke the other's language much, so Donna pointed to herself and said, "Mi caballero!". Abundiyo understood this and motioned for her to follow him. Donna stepped forward without knowing what might come of it.
Donna was taken to more horses. Abundiyo motioned for her to get on one. Then motioned for her to back up, then for her to whirl her horse around. Finally satisfied that she was indeed a cowboy, they went for a ride. Abundiyo took Donna on a 6 hour long ride that day, passing by her husband at home to let him know she was indeed accounted for. After that day, Donna and Abundiyo went riding often. Donna's courage and heart is a really big part of this story and represents how things come together when individuals step forward.
(end of excerpt)
When George and Donna went into the mountains to bring the starving horses to safety, he didn’t know how he would get them into a trailer. They hadn’t been handled in a long time, if ever, and most had difficulty walking. When the back door of the trailer was opened, Chance, a four-year old appaloosa, walked directly inside without even a rope. The other 6 horses followed Chance. It was done. Minutes later, with the trailer of horses back in town to receive help, the trailer door opened again. Chance fell out, too weak to walk further.
Chance’s liver was failing, so each day a local vet visited to give him IVs, vitamins and medication. But he was too sick and passed away. George and Loretta built a permanent shelter for the rest of the rescued horses. Volunteers – locals, foreign travelers and retirees - came together to erect the needed refuge of stables. A group of young Mexican teenagers, mostly not going to school due to poverty, volunteered to care for the horses.
George and Loretta united the horses with 12 special-needs children from Las Varas and field trips continue to this day. Donations from other caring people helped complete the refuge with all the necessities for horses and people who came to love them. George and Loretta’s dedication of work and hard-earned money then expanded to kennels, dog runs, a surgery room and a cat house.
Over the years, more of the original horses died. Their skulls hold a special meaning to the Huichol, an indigenous people living in the rugged Occidental Range of the Sierra Madre Mountains. They weave a story into an ongoing vision using the animal’s skull to portray the meaning of each life.
The Hilltop Refugio – JEEP - continues today with summer help from George and Loretta's granddaughters, as well as year-round help from volunteers - Mom and Gary included. My brother, Wyatt, wintered there as well and spearheaded fund raising for spay and neuter clinics, as well as long-distance adoptions.
Many near dead street dogs and cats are now living their best lives locally and in many other countries, including Pavo, Wyatt’s dog. George and Loretta Leavitt have spent decades of their lives helping animals and SO many people. If you are looking for an organization that rescues the beings that have been left to fend for themselves - this is one of the best
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