39 horses taken from hoarder

You've heard of puppy mills. You've heard about cases of a few starving, neglected horses found in a field. How about 39 horses--thin, living in filth, with untreated wounds, skittish and unused to handling? Stallions and mares, many of them Arabians. Thirty-nine. Pierce County Animal Control took the horses from a property in Graham, Washington this week. According to the Tacoma News-Tribune "some stalls contained compacted manure and urine a foot thick."

Pierce County Animal Control Officer Brian Boman leads a horse from a transport trailer to a stall at Frontier Park in Graham, September 26, 2012. It is one of thirty neglected horses were seized from a Graham-area home. (PETER HALEY/THE NEWS TRIBUNE)

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/09/28/2313562/graham-area-man-to-fight-for-return.html#storylink=mostpopular#storylink=cpy

The owner cooperated with authorities when the horses were being taken. That seems to be "official talk" that means he didn't cause obstructions or get in the way. Now he has lawyered up and intends to fight to get the horses back. Isn't that a typical hoarder attitude? "I'm taking care of those animals; the abuse has been exaggerated; my animals are well fed; I spend every cent I've got taking care of them." Tell me the horse in that photo is healthy and fit.

This was the largest horse rescue Pierce County has ever undertaken and funds are needed for the $40,000 cost of rehabilitating the horses. If lots of people (yes, me too) each send a little, they'll raise the money in no time. The address for donations is Pierce County Auditor's Office, 2401 South 35th St., Room 200, Tacoma, WA 98409. They'll probably have to spend all their budget-allotted money on the legal case.