Spoke to SPCA today about the pony

[Jane=P]

I called the SPCA today about the starved pony we took and tried to save, and had to put down Friday , after long fight trying to save her and now I remember why I didn't want to get the SPCA involved in this. I told them we took the pony and worked with my vet for a month, trying to get her back from being starved, but she couldn't come back from it and couldn't stand at the end and we had to put her down.

The head of the SPCA is a old horse vet and I never liked him when he was practicing , and never used him because of his personality . When I told him about her, he said this may hurt his case because we had the pony for a month and then it died, they could say it had other problems or try to blame me.

He said in his 30 yrs years as a horse vet , most horse that are straved come back when they are fed and asked me if I fed her

I couldn't believe he said that to me .I tried everything that we could do, and worked with my vet (almost daily) trying and have paperwork showing that and not to mention all the money we spent trying to save her, she was just to weak and her body couldn't come back from all the time it was abused and starved . He told me to send him the paperwork and pictures and if he need them for his case he will used them. He said they have been charged and plead not guilty and the case is going forward and he knows about the other horses and have good case against them, so hopefully they will get what they deserve.

I plan on calling my vet tomorrow and letting him know that I sent this forward (He was so upset when we had to put her down ) and tell him what they said to me about feeding the pony and I am sure he will call them and give them a earful about how hard we tried to save her. This is why I didn't want to call the SPCA and deal with them.

JANE

 

[Katiean]

make sure you only send copies of all paper work and pictures. That SPCA vet is just stupid. I watched a thing on animal planet that they took in a starved mare that was in foal. They had no idea how far. But, the foal hanging down looked more like a tumor than a foal. They tried their hardest to keep the mare from foaling when she did as they needed a bit more time to rehab her. The mare died not long after the foal stood and was adopted out when she was weaned. However, they kept track of her as she was a 2 year old when they were showing her. The point is, they thought they would loose both of them. But were able to save the foal.

 

[HGFarm]

Dont take this personally.. this guy is gruff, but these are probably questions he HAS to ask, as it sounds like there may be quite a few problems with the previous owners and it has to be absolutely PROVEN in a court that THEY did all this. Absolutely yes, if it helps with prosecution, send him copies of EVERYTHING.

Authorities cannot assume, so have to hear flat out from you, what exactly took place and was done. They will probably need ALL your vet records, etc... and if you have to testify, the opposition is not going to be easy on you either and will try to find a mistake or shift the blame to you, rather than them.

Hang in there and dont let this little pony's death be in vain. You can do it!!

 

[Ellen]

Jane,

You did all you could. Thank God you tried. Don't take it personally. Sending good thoughts and prayers your way!

Ellen

 

[LAZY J MINIS]

JANE, HANG IN THERE. WE HAD ABOUT THE SAME PROBLEM ON COUNTY SHERIFF IN STEAD OF SPCA. WE KEEP A JOURNAL OF EVERYDAY AND VET VISITS. EVERY THING IT WAS A FIGHT BUT WE WON FOR HIM. HE WAS LOVED AND CARED FOR JUST AS SHE WAS. IF SHE COULD SHE WOULD SAY THANK YOU. AND SO DO I.

 

[Miniv]

Put everything down in writing........MAKE the SPCA your FRIEND.

In the long run, they WANT you down the road to be there for another case. Go in and talk to your local Humane Society. Here in this area there isn't an "official SPCA vet".........but there are officials within the society. There are also the "officials" with animal control. They come under a different Heading. (It gets confusing.) Some of them don't know SQUAT about horses.

Just stick to your guns and have your vet in your back pocket......

 

[JWC sr.]

The SPCA does some good in the grand scheme of things sometimes, but they can be a real pain to work with. Back in the old days when we owned pet shops many times they would inspect (even though they had no authority and we were USDA licensed etc.) we ran into individuals that did not know or understand the animals they in good conscience were trying to regulate and/or protect. It was a matter of education for us with them. Some just never learned, which sounds like this Vet you spoke of.

It was many times frustrating, but because of the good they did in some cases, we tolerated them and did what was best for our myrid of animals.

Personally I have a lot more faith in the many rescues that specialize in a particular types of animals ( horses, large dogs or whatever) as they normally understand and can deal with the special problems that type of animal may present to them.

Don't let it get you down, keep copies of everything, consider the source of your frustration and you should be fine. You know in your heart, from all that you have told us that you did the best you could for the mare and it just did not work out. Sometimes the most compassionate thing to do for an animal in distress is to make the hard decision to put them down gracefully.

Sorry it did not work out for you and the mare.