Finneas (formerly named Leo) & Billie are a bonded pair that came from the Twist of Fate cruelty case. Even though they're not related, they very much act like an older brother and little sister, and they were named after singers Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas O'Connell.
I don't really know much about their past or how they came to be with Ashley DiFelice. They're both on the younger side - Finneas is only about 5 or 6 years old and Billie is a yearling, at around 1-2 years old. I'm not sure what Billie's original name was - my best guess is that she was a more recent intake and there may or may not have been any posts about her anyway. She may not have ever even had a name while she was at TOF, which could explain why she wasn't named on the list of survivors. I don't have any photos of Leo from his time there, and there were no posts about him on the old TOF Patreon either.
**ETA: on further investigation Billie's former name might be Tulip. Tulip is listed among the survivors as a 4 year old dark bay mare with a dropped hip and a body score of 2. Everything but the age matches up with her, and Tulip is the only horse that even comes close. Unfortunately I don't have any old photos of Tulip while she was at Twist of Fate to be able to compare, but I'm probably 95% certain that it's a match!
One of the 17 charges of animal cruelty against Ashley is for Leo/Finneas.
When they were rescued from Ashley, Finneas had a body score marked as <1. He was just skin covering bones - you could count every single rib and his hip bones were prominent. He also had dropped pasterns, which is ligament and tendon damage along the fetlock or what is basically his ankles above his hooves. He was deemed a "slow re-feed", which can be dangerous as calories, feed, hay, and supplements all need to be introduced at a very slow, well-balanced and meticulous rate. Everyone was very concerned about him for the first 6 weeks of his rescue. Because I'm unable to match up Billie on the list I don't know her body score at the time she was rescued, but while she did look better than Finn she was still malnourished and underweight as well. She also had a dropped hip which required a lot of rehab to build the muscle to support that area. Both of them needed to have their teeth done and had very overgrown hooves as well, which just added to the pain that Finneas was already in from his dropped pasterns. Like the other animals from the Twist of Fate case, there were no medical records for these two, so piecing together their history and current and future needs were again a puzzle. Both of them were afraid, withdrawn, and depressed.
They were taken in by Furvivors Horse Rescue & Sanctuary (@furvivors) and given their names. Originally they were only planning on taking Finneas, but while they were there to get him Billie ran up to them and made it clear that they were a package deal! Their bond was instantly noticeable, and Finneas would keep a watchful eye over his little sister, always. She was very shy, and he was very protective. They were both very much suffering mentally too, and Furvivors worked with them to imprint on them, desensitize them and help them heal. Just like all the other TOF survivors, they had to learn how to trust humans again. They started to let their guard down and gain weight. She would slowly and carefully, and despite his slow re-feed diet he would still eat ravenously, as if he was afraid that more food wouldn't be coming - something that he had to endure for months because of Ashley.
Billie is almost a baby, and all she ever wanted was love and attention, but she was denied those things and left to die. Billie dealt with some separation anxiety for a bit, so afraid that her new humans would abandon her that she would follow them everywhere. In just a matter of a few weeks Billie was running, kicking, and jumping for joy, finally feeling a little more comfortable and playful in her new surroundings. No doubt having her "big brother" close by helped her to relax and release some of her built-up tension and fear. While Finneas had more physical trauma, Billie's trauma was mostly emotional.
In just a few weeks after his rescue Finneas gained 50 pounds (about 22.5 kilos). He may be younger but Finn took a little bit longer to get all of his energy back, which is understandable considering his extremely low body score. It was a long and slow road, but eventually he got there too, even one day leaning in for kisses from his new human family and rolling around in the grass. His dropped pasterns were later diagnosed as DSLD (Degenerative Suspensory Ligament Desmitis), a painful and progressive condition leading to the chronic breakdown of the horse's tendons and ligaments. He was part of a special medical trial to improve his DSLD and his quality of life, and it seems to be helping him.
These days Billie and Finneas are happy, knowing that they are free and safe. They continue to look out for each other and are extremely bonded, but have also formed close friendships with the other horses at the rescue. To see Finneas and Billie's journey, please give Furvivors a follow on Instagram! You can also find them on Facebook and TikTok. If you would like to donate towards the care for this duo, you can do so via the donate page on their website, PayPal, or Venmo (PP and V are also linked on their website). You can also send them something from their Amazon Wishlist, and they also have cute tees, totes, hats, sweatshirts and more for sale on their site. They also have a PayPal campaign to fund the purchase of a new tractor. One of the best ways to support any sanctuary though is to join their Patreon and donate monthly in any amount. Finneas and Billie's story was also featured on The Dodo! You can watch the 3 minute video here.
Originally I had planned on sharing a different animal's story today because I like to vary the updates by species, sanctuary, and whether or not the animal was a survivor. My last update was about horse River, but if any of the animals from the former Twist of Fate have an emergency or anything like that then I will switch up my order, like I did for pig Waffles* and a few others along the way. It saddens me when I have to do this, because there is no such thing as a GOOD emergency or reason why. Finneas and Billie are both fine, but sometimes the people that run the sanctuaries have emergencies:
Lakyn, the young woman who runs Furvivors, suffered a near-fatal car accident this past Saturday night. She was driving and swerved to avoid hitting a deer and sustained several severe injuries, both internal AND external. She is overall doing okay but has a long road to recovery ahead of her. She is the main caretaker of the sanctuary but since she'll be unable to physically care for the animals at her rescue Furvivors will need volunteers, to hire help, and to raise funds for feed for the animals for the next few months so that she can have some peace of mind and focus on healing right now instead. To help with these costs, Caitlin of Rancho Relaxo has set up a GoFundMe. Even if the goal is met, please consider donating even a small amount anyway as costs to care for all of the animals will add up!
Lakyn was one of the volunteers that helped with the Twist of Fate mess last summer, helped place some of the animals and actually took in 3 herself (the 3rd horse will have his story shared soon).
If you live in or near Chester County, Pennsylvania and would like to volunteer at Furvivors either temporarily or on a more permanent basis, please send them a direct message on Instagram - her mother JoJo has been running the account and sanctuary in the meantime. You can also email them at rescue@furvivors.org or fill out the contact form on their website.
Thank you for being here and for supporting Billie, Finneas, AND Lakyn while all of them continue to heal.
You can read Waffles' story here and here.
Ashley DiFelice's next court date still has not been announced. I have emailed the prosecution team a couple of times already to see when it will be scheduled or why it is being delayed but so far haven't heard anything. I'll update as soon as I know anything though! Please continue to share the petition in the meantime. Thank you!