LAKE COUNTY ? An emaciated, 25-year-old, Arabian gelding is the latest example of the fact that animal neglect is on the rise while the economy plummets, according to Lake County Animal Care and Control (LCACC) officials.
LCACC Director Denise Johnson said the situation is worse for livestock. Job loss and foreclosures have more people calling to surrender dogs, cats, sheep, goats and horses, or calling to report abandoned animals.
“We see a lot of people calling because they are being displaced from foreclosure and they overlooked the care of their animals, or the animals are left on the property or turned loose somewhere else,” Johnson said.
Officers from the LCACC who respond to the calls find neglected and abandoned horses in all conditions, ranging from “fat and happy” to severely malnourished and close to death, according to Johnson. She estimated horse neglect cases have jumped 20 percent in the last two years, a sharper rise than ever before. The shelter is experiencing a steady climb in horse neglect cases, and is bracing for more.
An anonymous caller reported the neglected Arabian horse, according to LCACC Deputy Director Bill Davidson. A veterinarian confirmed the horse had severe dental disease and was 150 pounds underweight, according to Davidson. He said blood test results indicated the horse was borderline anemic.
“We anticipate forwarding this to the District Attorney for prosecution,” Davidson said.
Johnson said from a global perspective, part of the problem is that the price of feed and care has risen. Lack of rainfall virtually doubled the price of hay shipped from California”s Central Valley, Oregon and Nevada during the last two years, according to Johnson.
“Horses are a huge responsibility, and they require a lot of care. I think people should do more research before taking on the responsibility of a horse, and a lot of people don”t do that,” Johnson said.
During a horse”s stay at the LCACC shelter, the county general fund pays for food, veterinary care and cleaning until the horses can be either adopted or euthanized, depending on the animal”s condition.
“Sometimes no matter how much a horse recovers, the system takes such a hard knock from the abuse that it can”t sustain its health for long,” Johnson said.
Office assistant Paula Werner estimated the number of pet owners who voluntarily surrendered dogs and cats almost doubled in a year”s time. Pets and livestock can be surrendered to the LCACC shelter for a fee depending on the animal or animals.
Johnson said horse rescue operations are an alternative, and the shelter works with many around the lake to rehabilitate the horses and place them in homes.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636 ext. 37.
