Thursday, May 7, 2009

Updates on previous stories

Some updates for you...

Remember the young draft horses who died when the double decker they were being hauled in flipped over in Illinois? Well, they have fined the owner, Keith Tongen of Brownton, Minnesota, and the driver is being charged with animal cruelty. Now I'd just like to hear what happened to the surviving horses - anybody out there have one and have a story to tell?

Many of the Three Strikes Ranch horses have been adopted but there are still many looking for a home. They must be out of the Bridgeport Fairgrounds within days so if you are interested in one, you can adopt now. If you want to help, your donation to Habitat for Horses would be greatly appreciated. Latest press release with information on adoption. Now I'm waiting to hear what we can do to get Jason Meduna charged with more than one count of animal cruelty. Obviously there are dozens of counts here and I know most of you agree with me that the shirtless wonder needs to go to prison and stay there for a very long time. As soon as I know where to write/call and what to ask for, I'll be passing that along. If you haven't been reaading Jim Weber's posts on ABR, you should...he has illustrated very effectively the horror of this situation, as seen not by an animal rescuer or animal rights activist, but by a "normal guy" - a rancher, a local, someone who is not emotional or reactive but was shaken to the core by the horrors he encountered. Here's just one.

Remember the world's worst veterinarians up in Langley, British Columbia? Not only have they been charged but the surviving horses are doing wonderfully and will be up for adoption soon!

Remember the world's worst horse-owning lawyer? I found this open letter to him from one of the rescuers...boy, she nailed it. Excellent reading. I would love to see his response but I will not be holding my breath.

And the delaying tactics begin on the Ernie Paragallo case...what a surprise. Show me an animal cruelty case, and I'll show you a defense attorney determined upon delaying its progress for as long as possible. It is absolutely predictable!

Gerry Trupia got a wrist-slap three years of probation and a $45,000 fine for her neglect case. She pled guilty, which is usually the way to get off easy. Just ask Dean Solomon, who not only has served no jail time but has been spotted buying hay recently at our local feed stores. But hey, I'm sure she's not disobeying her agreement not to own horses. She must have bunnies now! *eye roll*



I see a lot of things online that make me think we need to review that horse ownership license idea again, but every once in a while I see one that is really special. Click to enlarge, read, and weep. Audrey, you do not need to be breeding horses. You need to be saving that whopping extra $200 you have in case your poor mare has a vet bill!