OMG my head's gonna explode!

[KittyTyme]

This is in Ohio. Butler County is where I live.

Nine Horses Found Dead, 11 Malnourished In Animal Cruelty Case


Reported by: Deb Silverman
Web produced by: Laura Hornsby
Photographed by: Jon Atkinson
First posted: 12/22/2006 5:06:34 PM
A Butler County resident is being credited Friday evening for tipping off investigators to what's being called one of the worst cases of animal cruelty in the area.

The tip led the Butler County dog warden to a Moraine, Ohio farm where nine horses were found dead and an 11 other horses on the property were found malnourished.

The rescue effort happened Thursday night when Butler County dog warden Vicky Steier said her agency received a call about the horses. She tells 9News the animals were found in horrific conditions and extremely thin.

"The nine other horses most likely died of starvation," Steier said.

Local 4-H youths will assist in bringing the horses back to health and into their normal weight.

Some of the surviving horses are being held in Butler's Madison Township where they are also being nourished back to health.

The Montgomery County Humane Society handling the case,but because no charges have been filed, the name of the property owner has not yet been released.

There are a number of ways you can help the remaining horses to be nursed back to health:

Call the Montgomery County Humane Society @ 937-262-5928
Learn more about Butler County's 4-H organization

[auntietonka]

Such a sad story. Glad they can help the living horses. To bad it was reported sooner.

[Mommyof4]

Such a sad story. Some people should NOT be allowed to have animals of any kind. How can you just watch your horses die one by one from starvation?

[KittyTyme]

These (people) obviously do not care about life. I can't comment much more or I'll start using VERY bad language. My personal opinion is they should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

[KittyTyme]

Horses get TLC in Hamilton
By Cameron Fullam

Staff Writer

Saturday, December 23, 2006

HAMILTON — A group of Butler County children are turning a case of animal cruelty near Dayton into a Christmas blessing. Nine seriously malnourished horses are getting a second chance at life, and more than 20 children are getting to care for the animals they love.

"I just want to help these animals," said Megan Flynn, 12, of Liberty Twp. "They look so helpless and frightened. I just want to help them out and make them feel comfortable that people are now helping them and not hurting them."


Flynn and other members of the Making Strides 4-H Club from Galerie Farm in Hamilton began early Saturday morning preparing stalls at the Butler County Fairgrounds to create an impromptu recovery ward for the horses previously owned by Harley L. Thompson, 67, of Moraine.

Officials of the Humane Society of Greater Dayton say a tip from a Butler County resident led them to Thompson's home Thursday where they found nine horses dead and 11 others in serious distress.

The tipster, who had sold the horses to Thompson, told a Butler County deputy Thompson had asked him to remove the horses from his farm because he couldn't care for them, said Vickey Steier, Butler County dog warden.

He removed two horses, then alerted the authorities who investigated the property Thursday.

"When we first arrived on scene, we could see all the bark was missing off the trees," Steier said. "The horses had been eating the bark."

Ownership of the surviving horses was transferred to the Humane Society, which is investigating the case.

When news of the discovery reached Laura Kursman, a Liberty Twp. resident and public relations officer with Montgomery County government, she jumped at the chance to help.

"I'm a horse person, I teach and train at Galerie, and I'm one of the co-advisors for the 4-H group, so when our animal resource center called me, I said, 'Gee, I'm right there,' " Kursman said.

Steier coordinated stable arrangements at the fairgrounds and the horses began arriving in pairs early Saturday morning.

"We're going to be working to get them healthy and get them some medical attention and make sure that we can get them into more permanent homes in the next two weeks," Kursman said.

Cincinnati veterinarians Jen and Scott McQuinn are volunteering services to monitor and treat the horses while they await adoption.

The most basic need for the horses is just to be nourished, said Scott McQuinn, who expects the animals to need at least three to four months of rehab.

"They're anywhere from 200 to 400 pounds underweight," he said. "A few of them have some heart murmurs, but as they get better, that can go away. They're tough animals."

The four most severely ill horses are being cared for at private homes throughout the area, Steier said.

During the next two weeks, Flynn plans to come to the fairgrounds everyday to care for the horses, which need around-the-clock care.

She and her friends help out in any way they can, keeping the horses' stalls full of grain and hay and water. They also provide an abundance of much-needed TLC.

Flynn has already developed a special fondness for one bay pony she has named Clarice.

"She's so sweet, and she seems to like the attention," she said. "I love working with the horses. I'd do this for the rest of my life."

[countrycutie123]

What a sad story, hoepfully it has a good ending.

[KittyTyme]

It's wonderful!!!!!

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.d...364/1077/COL02

[KittyTyme]

Update... I heard on the news this morning.. that the horses are in good enough shape that they are being put up for adoption TODAY!!! now that's some good care.. going from almost dead a month ago.. to being able to be adopted today!!! Oh I wish I lived on a farm.. I would take them all.. I would just love them and brush them and feed them all good things to eat..I know there's a lot to taking care of horses.. but for God's Sake... any IDIOT knows that you have to AT LEAST give them food, water and a clean stall!!! How can someone just watch an animal starve to death???

[Edith]

I can not understand how people can be so cruel/sick as to let things like this happen and the not to be phased ny it!!

[Bluefire]

OMGosh... How can people do things like that... . It's so cruel. And dying of STARVATION?? That's like, soooooo disgusting, how people can let that happen to horses. If they can't take care of them, they shouldn't keep them at all. Did they get thrown in jail or something? Cause if they do, they deserve it.