Posts Tagged ‘updates’
I think she might be one of the happiest little mares in the world now!
Back in July of 2008, I blogged about the amazing recovery of a little mare named Naysa from an attack so violent that I think the critter that did it should have just been shot immediately – and I don’t care if he walks on two legs.
This might be the toughest little mare in the world
The good news: Naysa is fine! Naysa is great, actually. The pic at left is from last week!
Naysa today at her wonderful home in Florida.
I don’t know which I love more, the pics of her cuddling with people or the pic of her with her own sleazy hood and blankie! You know she never lived that well in her life before this. I am happy just looking at those pictures! You can totally see that her faith in humans has been restored. Every kudo on earth to you, Jolee!
You guys know how often I talk about how everybody is right up there wanting to help a horse when the rescue is “fresh” and you get to be in the spotlight for doing it. But the real rescuers are the ones who are still just as committed to taking care of the horse a year, two years, ten years down the road. And that’s why I’m so delighted to be able to show you all of these new pics of Naysa — because this is a case where it was all done right. Habitat For Horses did it right in rescuing her and rehabbing her, then carefully selecting just the right home for her. Jolee has done it right in giving her a loving home from the day she brought her home, where she could learn to trust again and finally feel forever safe.
Now this is about as cute as it gets! And look at the size of that field that little miss Naysa has to play in!
I read something really stupid this week about how you should try to be nicer and more compassionate to avoid “rescuer burnout.” Screw THAT. I just need to look at things like this very happy ending to avoid feeling burned out and hopeless! Feeling hatred toward people like the asshat who did this helps keep me fired up and motivated and that’s a good thing!
So that brings me to the fly in the ointment, the one thing that keeps this from being a perfect rescue story:
The man who did this, Tony Meyers, aka evil incarnate, perpetrator of what is arguably one of the cruelest incidents of abuse toward a horse reported in recent years, has not been tried yet! Yes, I know. Our legal system at work. This bottom-feeding, knuckle-dragging waste of oxygen gets postponement after postponement. It is ridiculous, ludicrous, unacceptable and needs to stop.
So today, please take 15 minutes to write or call the prosecutor and demand that Tony Meyers be brought to justice. If you appreciate my blog at all, please do this one thing. I can’t deal with this maggot going unpunished one more year.
Assistant District Attorney Chester Cedars: ccedars@16jda.com or phone number: 337-394-2222
The Case No. to reference is 07-00009229 (important – no one will know what you are talking about without it)
As always, be POLITE and RESPECTFUL. You are calling to ask when he will be going to trial, and want to share your opinion that he should receive the maximum penalty allowable by law. It is never okay to use profanity or get angry. You don’t want to sound crazier than the crazy person you are trying to have put away. Be calm, clear and have the facts ready to discuss. Please let me know what you are told in response. Thanks!
For you locals who’d been going nuts over this
Remember how Dean Solomon got some hapless person to buy a Thoroughbred mare for her at the December Enumclaw Auction? A mare that she’d owned before and given away to someone who apparently dumped her at the sale yet again?
Well, Dean never picked up the mare (good) but whoever the idiot is (someone named Shelly? No, no one that I know, some Shelly in Orting, I believe) didn’t take care of her, either, and now she looks like this. As we all know, birds of a feather flock together so it is no big surprise that a pal of Dean’s would let a mare get into this condition.
Her breeder had indicated to me previously that they would be interested in helping her, so I’ve just sent them an e-mail. Hopefully they are still interested.
Oh, and Dean? JUST FUCKING STOP IT, WILL YOU? You’re not helping. If you hadn’t bid on this mare, she might have gone to a real home or been picked up by a real rescue. Just sit your photoshopped ass down in front of the computer and stop going to auctions. You going to the auction is like an alcoholic going to a wine-tasting. JUST STOP. At the point where you have to plead guilty to animal cruelty, that is a sign that your rescue career is OVER. Find something new to collect, something that doesn’t breathe or eat.
Did you get your veterinary degree from a Cracker Jack box?
Update on those horses in Tulsa that the local woman was trying to get some help for:
http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=11568390
So, the owner simply moved the skinnies elsewhere, and this dumbass local vet refuses to say there was cruelty here, so now the police won’t do anything. Look, I agree that bark eating doesn’t always mean they’re starving, but THIS PICTURE means IT IS STARVING! I didn’t have to go to vet school to know that, and I can’t believe this guy’s “oh, well” response toward the horses’ condition.
“The veterinarian who examined the four horses got there after the others have been moved, but he says there’s enough grass in the pasture for them, and should have been enough there for the others to at least keep from starving.”
Well, gee, I’m glad that we have SUCH high expectations for our animal owners in Oklahoma! Maybe we can “at least keep them from starving.” To death, I guess, because this horse on the left is ALREADY starving. (And I’m curious – if you’re in Oklahoma, is the grass good enough in January to support horses without hay? Because it isn’t in most of the parts of the country that I have lived, even if the temperatures are mild.)
This is where I start wanting to bang my head against a wall. That poor woman who reported this did all of the right things. She filed a report and she went to the media. She risked her own safety by very publicly speaking out against this horse owner. And what did she get? Dr. DoNothing comes out and shrugs his shoulder and says, oh well. And the police listen to Dr. DoNothing and decline to press charges. *HEADDESK* I’m sorry, but really, does ANYONE need any specialized training to see that the horse in this picture is actionably thin? This is another case where I’ll bet any of you could show this to your non-horsey significant other and their response would be “OMG, what is wrong with that poor horse?” I’m guessing Dr. Mike Alexander is drinking buddies with whoever owns these poor horses, and that makes me want to puke. It sounds like they are dropping the whole thing, instead of demanding that the horse owner produce the thin horses and make them subject to a vet inspection at once. Great.
Update: Judy Caton’s in the news
High-End Monroe Horse Breeder Investigated
It it always a relief to know that animal control is involved and the situation has been made truly public by the media (not just on the message boards and blogs, where it is easier for defenders to claim the person is being railroaded and there is no truth to the accusations). I want to particularly commend Doug Stroud, Tana Hanson and Lori Goulet for filing an actual report and not going along with the “protect our own” mentality that allows so many “big names” to escape the consequences of their actions. I am sure that some of Judy’s friends will snark at you guys at next year’s shows. I’ll pass you a helping of extra-thick skin from my collection — you surely did the right thing on this one and all the real horsepeople will back you up 100%. Hopefully others will follow your example and not just post anonymously on message boards or send me covert “but don’t mention MY name” e-mails and instead actually march down to animal control and file a report. That is what gets results. That is what helps the horses. Do it.
Oh, and from the article:
“The three said when they asked Caton about the condition of her horses, she told them one of her teenage daughters forgot to feed them.”
For the one millionth time, YOU’RE THE PARENT. YOU’RE THE LEGAL HORSE OWNER. It’s YOUR responsibility. By the way, I wonder what Judy’s teenage daughter has to say about that allegation? It is hard to feed invisible hay. I think it is a bit much to blame dozens of starving horses on a child not yet old enough to vote, Mother-of-The-Year. And nobody forgets anything for the several months’ time it took for the horses to get that thin. It is not like someone forgets to feed a meal and they all drop 300 pounds.
(Just once, wouldn’t it be SO refreshing for someone like this to say “I have no excuse. I was trying to hide how broke I was. I was embarrassed and didn’t want to ask for help. It was the wrong thing to do, and I’m sorry that my animals suffered.” Never happens. Blame the drought, blame the economy, blame a teenager…the finger is always pointed elsewhere. )
Original blog entry here.
