What do you do with abusers?

Though officers in Multnomah and Clark Counties each told me they have about 25-30 calls about horse neglect a year, Multnomah County is much more likely to seize horses and prosecute abusers than Clark County. In the past five years Clark County had one case where they seized the horses and Multnomah County has had about a half a dozen.

“Every jurisdiction reacts to its constituency,” said Davidson. “A particular county or community determines how rigid it’s going to be. There are some counties that are going to be a lot more rigid then Clark County in terms of following up on what should be done and how to do it.” As a result, Clark County tends to focus most of its energy on voluntary compliance and educating horse abusers. For some cases that works beautifully as evidenced by the case study (see case studies which follow.). However, sadly this approach is not always enough. “We work at educating the owners but it is very frustrating when you have people that show up on our case load year after year,” said Martin.

Animal Control in Clark County does not have a lot of resources; they do not even own a horse trailer. “I wish we had our own vet and I wish we had a place where we could take horses,” said Martin. “We don’t have our own livestock yard where we can shelter and rehabilitate horses.”

Despite the differences in the organization, what is clear is these officers genuinely care. They are doing a low paying job with limited resources and they are often placed in the middle of heart-wrenching, nightmarish cruelty.

“I cannot speak for the others, but I do this work because I can make a difference in the life of an animal, a person, and sometimes a child,” said Martin. “Removing an animal from an abusive/neglectful home and seeing it go on to a healthy, happy life keeps me going. Animal rescues keep me going. Educating a sincere, well meaning person so that they can go on and help their own animals keeps me going. It is a calling as much as it is a job.”

Officer Luckey helped rehabilitate a thoroughbred who was seized because of cruelty. The horse was large, and hot and did not have any manners so people were afraid of him. Luckey spent a year and a half working with him until he could go on trail rides and then found him a good home. “I’ll tell you, that horse just tore my heart apart,” the twenty year Animal Control veteran said. “He’s still very special to me. I get to see him on occasion and they brought me a picture of him the other day. He’s doing good. That was my commitment to him.”

As fortunate as we are to have caring people working for Animal Control in our areas, I think it is our responsibility as an informed and caring horse community to do our part. I think we owe it to horses, who bring us so much joy, to look out for the ones who are abused and neglected. Hopefully, if more people know who to call when they see neglect and abuse there will be fewer horses like Stick.

What do I do if I see horse cruelty/neglect?

Don’t assume everything is alright or the horse owner knows there is a problem if you see a horse in trouble. “We would rather be notified and go out there and see if there is a problem then not be notified and have to go out there when the horse is half dead,” said Davidson.

If you see an animal that you think is abused neglected or in need of immediate medical attention:

Call Animal Control. You can remain anonymous. If you live in Clark County, Washington or Multnomah County the numbers are listed below, otherwise look in the phone book under the government pages. Clark County Animal Protection and Control (360) 397-2488; Multnomah County Animal Services (503) 988-7387. If no one answers, leave a message. If it is after hours and an absolute animal emergency where you don’t think the animal will survive until the next day, call 911 and they will get in touch with animal control.

Gather as much information as you can in terms of what is wrong and where the animal is. It is important to provide a precise address or at least an address for either side of where the animal is.

Do not trespass, impersonate an officer or get into a confrontation with the owner.

You can follow up with animal control to see what happened, but if a case is pending they are limited in what they can tell you over the phone. The best way to find out more is to make a written public information request. It helps to reference the case number; so ask for a case number when you first call to complain.

Be patient if your case is not an emergency. “Officers make dog bites and cruelty calls their top priority,” said Officer Luckey.

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