January 30, 2010 - Noble County Sheriffs Act Quickly to Help Save Horses

UPDATE: On January 30, 2010, the Ohio SPCA was contacted by Det. Sgt. Jason Mackie for the third time. Nine horses were in need of removal with a severely emaciated black gelding in serious life-threatening condition. Unfortunately, the black gelding collapsed before removal and had to be euthanized. Dark urine indicated organ failure. Already at capacity, nearby horse rescues were not able to accept these horses, so eight horses were transported to Voice for Horses in Lucas County, Ohio. Thank you VFH for your assistance in this case!

Horse Rescues are over-whelmed. Donate or Contact Us to find out how you can help.

The Ohio SPCA continues to be grateful for the cooperation of the Noble County Sheriff Department. Unlike Noble County, MANY horses have suffered and died in other counties when law enforcement officials failed to act quickly. There is no excuse for such apathy and negligence. Please contact the Ohio SPCA if you witness animal abuse or neglect in your county and officials refuse to act.

Reports of horse abuse and neglect have been overwhelming. With the large number of horses in need, horse rescues always have more requests for help than what their capacity allows. If you are interested in being part of our horse rescue efforts (foster, transport, adoption), please contact us at ohiospca@verizon.net.

On Thursday, December 17, 2009 the Ohio SPCA requested that the Noble County Sheriff’s Department respond to complaints of horse neglect. Sgt. Deputy Mackie obtained a search warrant for a property in Cumberland. One young horse was found dead. A stallion and two mares in poor condition were removed and placed into the guardianship of the Ohio SPCA. Happy Trails Farm Sanctuary and Frog Pond Farm Draft Horse & Pony Rescue responded quickly with volunteers and trailers. We are extremely grateful for their assistance and ability to provide immediate shelter and care for these horses. It “takes a village” and these two organizations along with the Noble County Sheriff’s Department are to be commended for their efforts and dedication in order to save lives!

Malnourished mare

Emaciated mare

Teresa Landon tends goats on a Pickaway County farm where the Ohio Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals keeps rescued animals. The group has just 14 bales of hay to last the winter.

Teresa Landon tends goats on a Pickaway County farm where the Ohio Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals keeps rescued animals. The group has just 14 bales of hay to last the winter. Elvis doesn’t look or act, or especially smell, very friendly or inviting right now.

He’s a goat who seeks a mate, and so do most of his 30 friends on the Pickaway County farm. That means that the animals pretty much have slathered themselves with their own urine for rutting season. Apparently, the doe finds this attractive.

But no matter how gross they might look or smell, the goats still have to eat. And that’s what concerns Teresa Landon. She is volunteer director of the Ohio Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and right now she finds herself with 14 bales of hay to last the animals at the organization’s sanctuary through the winter.

A Pickaway County farmer, whom Landon wouldn’t name, cut nearly 30 acres of hay on the private farm where the society keeps its animals, just north of Circleville, in June. He was supposed to leave most of the hay for the society. Instead, Landon said, he left behind scrub and took the good stuff for himself.

A bad season prevented a second cutting.

“Now, we’ve stopped taking in any more rescued animals and we won’t know beyond the next week how I’ll feed the ones we have,” she said. She has tried to get more hay from other sources, but Ohio, like many states, is in a hay crisis and she can’t find any the group can afford.

She estimates the organization needs 900 to 1,000 bales to get the goats, two horses and a sick cow named Duncan through the winter.

The goats, she said, are especially problematic because they have special health needs and a changing hay supply isn’t good for them.

But at least there are fewer goats than before. Elvis and his buddies were part of a sickly herd of more than 220 that authorities seized from a condemned Scioto County farm in 2005.

Ohio officials also found at least 80 carcasses on the property of Christopher Weathersbee back then, including one in the house and several in a freezer, according to an Associated Press article.

Weathersbee eventually was convicted of animal-cruelty charges, but animal-welfare advocates were left to deal with the fallout. Many of the goats were adopted, but Elvis and his friends remain.

Now, Landon is moving them about the pasture in hopes of getting them through the winter.

“They’ve already escaped one bad fate,” Landon said. “I can’t let them starve to death now.”

More information can be found at www.ohiospca.org or by calling 740-420-2984.