Case Histories (Cont.)

Decatur, TX

This was my biggest abuse inspection to date:
(author speaking only for herself, not the rescue)
Received a call from a woman who reported a large breeding ranch that had several stallions in terrible condition. I drove to the location & knocked on the door. A woman came to the door and I explained to her that I represented H.O.R.S.E.S in Texas and showed her my membership card. I told her we had received an abuse report on her and I was interested only in closing the books on it. I explained that I was a private citizen with no authority and asked her if I could inspect her facility. She agreed, so I had her sign a written release form granting me permission in writing to inspect. I carried my clipboard and my camera. She agreed to give me a tour of the place. I asked if I could take some photographs. I had two rolls of 24 exposure 110 film. She agreed. I tried to get her in as many of the photos as I could in case she denied any part of the inspection.
Fences were down all over (Texas does have a fencing law). Most of the horses looked okay. There was a vast amount of acreage. It was the barn area where the stallions were kept that was the worst. One horse was down in a muddy, manure filled run. All four of it's hooves were infected, there was no water in the run, and of course, no feed or hay. It was the first time I'd ever heard a horse moan. We petted it, but it barely raised it's head. She claimed she was treating the hooves herself, applying an antibiotic poltice twice a day. Another stallion was badly underweight. Yet another stallion had "Alladin" feet.

I obtained the name of her veterinarian and made some small talk. She asked if the case was going to be dismissed. I told her that if her vet verified that the horses were under vet care, the case would be dismissed. She asked what would happen if it wasn't dismissed. I told her it would be reported to the county and/or the local Humane Society. She mentioned an officer at the county that she said she knew. I told her I didn't know him. She asked if I knew anyone at the Humane Society. I told her I did and mentioned a couple of names. She said she didn't know those people.

I left and went directly to the 1-hour film developer, dropped the film off and proceeded to the vet's office. The receptionist there gave me all of her vet records. I still had my clipboard, which I had used to take notes on during the inspection, carefully noting each horse's name, description, and location within the barn. I noted dates and treatments of her horses. Then, another receptionist retruned from asking the vet if he'd see me. He told his employees not to give me any of the woman's records, so they took them away from me, but I had already seen and noted everything. All the entries were old.

I left there and picked up my now developed film, then proceeded to the Sheriff's office to consult with them. They were very concerned that they had brought charges against this person before and had to go through months of appeals. I assurred them that this was a different person, but that they had investigated her once before (the reporter told me this) and that she had hidden several of the horses that were marked for seizure. The deputies suggested I consult the Humane Society.

The Humane Society, together with the deputies, went out, based on my photographic evidense and testimony, to inspect. They said that they were able to prod the downed horse into getting up and that they felt that they could not win a court case against her because of her extensive knowledge in horse and veterinary care. One of the charges would have been the denial of proper veterinary care. No horses were seized and no charges were brought up. They also said for me not to call the Humane Society again because the woman had claimed that I had told her that I was representing the Humane Society, which was an outright lie, but they took her word over mine.

I called the woman a couple of days later to offer my assistance in cleaning stalls and repairing fences. She told me that she had consulted her lawyer about my inspection and that I had inspected without her knowledge and for me not to ever call her or set foot on her place ever again. I know that had I not had her sign the inspection release form, the rescue may have been sued.

As for the Humane Society, a little time went by and they calmed down. The lessons I learned from this are: The abuser will say or do anything to get out of trouble. Those in positions of authority can be exclusive and distrusting of everyone, so get everything in writing and make sure that who you represent is clearly and boldly stated in paperwork signed by the accused abuser. Always take photographs, and you can never take too many. If possible, take along a witness. Also, one never knows who they are inspecting or what warrants or charges are of have been brought against an abuser, so the danger can be greater than just a lawsuit.

A couple of weeks later, I learned that the abuser had had the horse with the infected hooves put down, and another horse that was hidden in a dark corner of the barn that the woman told me was feed storage, was also put down (the barn was very, very big). The Humane Society was going to do follow-up to ensure the stallion with the long hooves was properly trimmed. I do not know what became of the underweight stallion.

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