GARDNER — When Emily Aho bought a pony in 2009 as a companion for her horse, she didn’t realize the ride she was saddling up for.
“I had no idea what I purchased until someone told me what I had,” said Aho, who had unknowingly bought one of the last remaining of an endangered breed — the Newfoundland pony.
There are only 50 of these ponies in the United States and approximately 500 to 600 worldwide. Aho is the director of the Newfoundland Pony Conservation Center, which works to preserve the breed and educate the public while ensuring the ponies in their care go to good homes.
“As I learned about the cause, they just kept finding us,” said Aho. Taking in ponies soon left Aho running a sanctuary for the animals, which in turn meant she needed a place to keep them. When the pandemic led to the shutdown of their original farm, the animals in her care needed a new home.
Enter Carl E. Dahl House at Evergreen Grove.
A symbiotic goal
Dahl House is a therapeutic farm in Gardner treating those suffering from substance abuse through caring for animals and crops on the farm. Both inpatients and outpatients are responsible for a number of animals on the property including turkeys, donkeys, horses and llamas.