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Post by sissycat96101 on Dec 26, 2008 22:27:51 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on Dec 26, 2008 23:18:19 GMT -5
Neglected horses receive donations
By VINCE DEVLIN of the Missoulian
CAMAS PRAIRIE - There's something Sanders County Sheriff's Deputy Dave Hedley wants you to know.
But part of him hates to tell you.
After a Missoulian article appeared last week detailing the plight of 13 abandoned horses here - and the sheriff's office having run out of funds to care for them - dozens of western Montanans answered Hedley's call for help.
“That article brought me out of a burning fire and into solvency,” Hedley said. “I would gladly bow down in a public square to the community of people who stepped up to the plate for these horses.”
Donations ranging from $5 to $300 - many of them for $55, the price of a round bale of hay, or $110, to cover two - poured in during the days that followed, until Sanders County's horse relief fund had $2,600 in the bank.
It's enough to keep the once starving and dehydrated herd fed for almost four months, if need be.
Hedley's only hesitation in acknowledging the generosity?
“I don't want it to stop,” he admitted. “We're going to have other animal rescue cases. It's not a matter of if we'll have to respond, but when.”
Indeed, the deputy said earlier this week, he was heading out to investigate a report of several dogs chained up outside a home in the bitter cold with no food or water. If true, it was possible Hedley would have to seize the animals, and the sheriff's office would become responsible for their care.
The 13 horses in Camas Prairie, discovered by Hedley in July, depleted his annual $20,000 budget.
The $20,000 includes Hedley's salary as the part-time animal control officer for the county. He's been making up to three trips a week between Thompson Falls and Camas Prairie in the months since to feed and check on the horses, most of the travel coming on his own time.
“Sometimes it gets so frustrating, battling the cold and snow, this and that,” Hedley said. Almost as important to the deputy as the money that came in were the cards and notes attached to it.
“A lot of people thanked me for the job I'm doing, and that appreciation goes miles for motivation,” he said.
Hedley found the herd after a neighboring landowner called the sheriff's office to report two dead horses on his property.
Once on the scene, Hedley checked out the area with binoculars, and spied 15 more horses huddled in the distance against an outbuilding near what turned out to be a vacant trailer.
One of the horses was in such bad shape it died within an hour of Hedley's arrival. Another, a 6-week-old colt, had to be put down by a veterinarian two days later.
All were suffering from severe dehydration, and all had equine distemper, also known as “strangles,” which is brought on by stress.
Four dead horses within 48 hours led to an investigation. Hedley charged Andrew Scott with cruelty to animals.
Scott's failure to appear in court on the criminal charges - Hedley believes the man has fled the state, possibly to California - has kept the situation in limbo, and extended the time the sheriff's office has been responsible for the animals.
Hedley and Sanders County Attorney Coleen Magera are in the process of appealing to District Court for a cruelty bond hearing. If successful, it would require Scott to post a bond to cover the expenses of feeding and caring for the 13 surviving horses pending his appearance on the criminal charges.
Assuming Scott doesn't post the bond, that would clear the way for Sheriff Gene Arnold to put the horses up for adoption or place them in foster care situations.
Meantime, Arnold and Hedley have cooked up a plan to round up and move the Camas Prairie 13 to the Sanders County Fairgrounds in Plains in the near future.
The move will cut down on Hedley's travel time, and make it easier for him to care for the horses.
“We can also isolate them in separate pens, and identify any behavioral issues in advance of possible future adoptions,” Hedley said.
Meantime, Hedley wants to thank the people who have contributed to the horses' rescue.
“Whether they sent $10 or $110, almost everybody included a note saying they were sorry they couldn't do more,” Hedley said. “As far as I'm concerned, given the way things are right now, every donation, no matter what the amount, was a great sacrifice, and I want people to know how grateful we are.”
And, he admits, he'll be just as grateful if more donations arrive to help with this and other animal rescue cases. Checks can be made out to SCSO (for Sanders County Sheriff's Office) Horse Relief, and mailed to the Sanders County Sheriff's Office, Attention Deputy Dave Hedley, P.O. Box 910, Thompson Falls, MT 59873.
For more information, or to learn about the possibility of adopting one of the horses in the future, call (406) 827-3584 and leave a message on Hedley's voicemail.
The Camas Prairie 13 haven't had much interaction with humans in a while and most remain wary of people. Hedley said all should be considered “project” horses, but added most would have good potential with owners willing to spend time working with them.
Help still needed
There's still a need for donations to help feed abandoned horses in Sanders County. Checks can be made out to SCSO (for Sanders County Sheriff's Office) Horse Relief, and mailed to the Sanders County Sheriff's Office, Attention Deputy Dave Hedley, P.O. Box 910, Thompson Falls, MT 59873
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Post by sissycat96101 on Dec 26, 2008 23:37:45 GMT -5
thank you dean for posting that story. my friend in stevensville montana said she and her daughter went to the shelter the other day and she just cryed seeing all the horses that were there and not being able to help,but she did come home with a nice cat.
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