CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – In the wake of a Stanardsville barn fire last month that killed a therapy horse and a therapy dog, the community has rallied around the non-profit Speaking of Horses, raising money to help the organization which provides equine-based speech therapy for children with disabilities.

A GoFundMe page established to help Speaking of Horses, and its operators, Ada Haensel and Brooke Baugher, rebuild their pediatric speech therapy clinic, has raised over $66,000 as of Wednesday morning.

“Right now, our lessons are on hold,” Speaking of Horses posted on its Facebook page on Monday. “All of our tack burned, including the adaptive saddles, bridles, girths, mounting block, and therapy materials our riders depend on. Our riders are waiting to get back in the saddle, and we want to bring them home to the barn as soon as we can.”

The Sept. 24 fire claimed the life Teddy, a therapy horse Baugher rescued and nurtured back to health, and Blue, a therapy dog and companion to Haensel for the past 11 years. The barn at Celt Run Farm, along with the organization’s equipment, was completely destroyed in the blaze. A second horse, Fiona, escaped the fire. She suffered burns and smoke inhalation but is making a full recovery.

In a Facebook post the day after the fire, Haensel wrote that she had Blue since college and that he helped her overcome panic attacks, even walking her to classes. Teddy, a Hafligner, had been an Amish horse, rescued from slaughter. But when he came to Celt Run Farm, he had been starving for about a year. He had lost his grinding teeth and could not eat, according to the organization’s website. Once healthy, Teddy proved to have the perfect calm, patient demeanor to work with children.

“We aren’t giving up,” Speaking for Horses posted on Facebook on Sunday. “We owe it to Teddy, to Blue, and to every child who has said a first word or found their confidence on the back of a horse. We’re going to rebuild.”