I received this in my e-mail and it just rubbed me all sorts of the wrong way, so of course I have to share.
Subject: THOR NEEDS LIFE-SAVING OPERATION AT TEXAS A&MTo all of our friends, THOR IS IN A LIFE OR DEATH SITUATION
We are sending this URGENT message to our friends to let you know that THOR (The World's Tallest Living Horse) is critically ill and has been taken to Texas A & M University Large Animal Clinic in College Station, Texas. Suffering pain, anemia, severe weight loss and other symptoms, Thor was seen by our regular team of local vets who all agreed that he needed to be sent to A & M at once. Texas A & M is one of the top veterinary teaching hospitals in the world and has the state of the art facilities and top vets needed to diagnose and treat animals of Thor’s size. Upon his arrival there, it was discovered that his symptoms were being caused by about 200 pounds of hardened sand trapped in one area of his lower intestine that has to come out or he will not survive. It is normal for horses to ingest and pass sand because they are herbivores, eat naturally off the ground and always ingest some earth along with the grass they consume. The great amount of sand inside of Thor, however, has> mysteriously accumulated over an undetermined period of time and not revealed itself up to now because of his super-sized anatomy. Horses of normal proportion could not survive this much intestinal blockage, commonly called “sand colic”. Their ability to digest food would cease, they would go into shock and die. The doctors at A & M feel that Thor is near this point, and have been feverishly trying to remove the sand medically (with massive quantities of psyllium) for the past week. There has been no noticeable improvement, but they want to continue this method for another seven days to> give it every possible chance to work. There is a very slim hope that this will treatment will have some effect, but should it not, then Thor will need to have immediate surgery to save his life. If we give the go-ahead to operate and all goes well, then his prognosis for recovery is excellent.
THE PROBLEM IS THAT A & M SURGEONS MAY NOT PERFORM THIS LIFE-SAVING OPERATION ON THOR. WHY? First, because Thor’s regular medical insurance will not cover this surgery and recuperative treatment he will need. We must, therefore, absorb the cost of Thor's treatment at Texas A & M on our own without insurance and have no way to cover it alone. We have already paid $5,000 in diagnostic testing, and have been advised to expect at least an additional $10,000 veterinary bill from the University to cover his surgery and recovery time. This includes the discount normally extended to us by the University. Unlike a human hospital, A & M will not perform the life-saving operation if they do not have a guarantee of immediate payment in full. Secondly, A & M does not have a payment plan. They require half of the surgery cost up front before they will operate and the other half after the procedure. We must raise the funds for this operation now or the doctors will not perform the surgery and Thor will not live. In fact, if they cannot operate, then they will want to euthanize him for humanitarian reasons. One might ask why don’t we don’t move him to another facility that has a payment plan. The reason is because most animal hospitals don’t have one, and A & M is the only facility in this part of the world that can conduct this type of operation on a horse this size and be able to deal with any emergency that may arise during surgery.
WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT As you know, Thor is a very special horse who is known and loved by many people. If just 100 of his friends would pull together and give $100 each toward his A & M veterinary care within a week, then we can give payment assurance to the University, approve the surgery, and give him the best possible chance to recover. Can you join this emergency effort? Do you know others who would? If so, then please let them know quickly and put them in touch with us. We will need to render a decision by this time next week. Anything will help. Your tax deductible donations can be provided as follows:
1. By credit card (fastest). You may make a designated, secure credit card donation for Thor through PAYPAL. Simply go to our website http://www.knightlife.net/, select the Donations For Thor tab, click on the “Help Thor/Donate” button on the right side of this page and you will be directed to PAYPAL to be led through a quick,safe and easy process
2. By check. Send a check made out to The Knights of The Guild, and include a note that indicates "Help Thor". Mail to Knights of The Guild, P.O. Box 1190, Spring Branch, TX 78070. If you opt for this method, then please email us at randall.parr@mac.com to let us know that your help is on the way. We have worked with horses for a long time, and are not alarmists. This is truly a life or death situation with a deadline and we can only ask once. We sincerely appreciate anything you can do to help Thor at your earliest possible convenience. If you cannot give financially, then please offer a prayer for him. We will keep you regularly posted on this situation through our web page.
Okay, who reading this, who has horses in Texas, does not know that you give them psyllium one week a month to prevent this from happening in the first place? You know, a $35 tub of Sand Clear. If you fail to do this, well, hell YES your horses will have sand colic. If you live in a sandy climate, psyllium is not negotiable. This is not something you do only AFTER the horse has his gut stuffed up tighter than the Holland Tunnel during rush hour!
And WTF, this is a non-profit thing why? How? This is not a rescue horse. Why are we supporting this horse? From everything I can find, this is a personally owned horse that this so-called "nonprofit" owns and uses to promote themselves at various events. Why is his vet bill the world's problem?
Sorry, I have NO sympathy here except for the poor horse who is suffering. Why should the world cough up $10,000 because you folks who OWN Thor failed to buy a $35 tub of psyllium and prevent this preventable condition? I had horses in Los Angeles and I know a lot of folks with horses in California, Arizona and Texas. The ones who feed psyllium don't have sand colics - period. It's preventable. I don't care how many people allegedly love this horse, he has owners. They need to find the money if they want to pay this vet bill that they created. Some suggestions: Home equity loan, sell a car, sell jewelry, sell furniture. Bet you folks have $10,000 worth of crap in your home - most people do. And yet here y'all are, begging begging begging. I'm so sick of all the Internet panhandling. This isn't even a rescue horse!
And this e-mail paints Texas A&M as the bad guys. Um, most people want to get paid. They aren't asshats for wanting you to pay your fucking vet bill and not for "trusting" you and not wanting 50% up front. They are realists who have mortgages too. They can't clean up your expensive mess either.
*sigh* And 4,000 has already been donated. Do you know how many sweet, kind slaughter-bound horses I could rescue and rehab for $4,000? Horses who don't have anything wrong with them? Sheesh people. Stop throwing your money at these ridiculous situations. These people are no worse than welfare witches - they're just milking a different system, kind hearted, gullible people on the Internet.
P.S. I don't want to hear one word about my use of the WW term. You all know to whom it refers - it's not ABOUT people who wind up on assistance short term due to health or a death. It's about people who milk the system for life and if that's you, yeah, you deserve the term.
