Aug 26, 2008 2:46 pm US/Eastern
Vet Forced To Euthanize Horse Rescued From Ditch
HIALEAH (CBS4) ―
One of the two horses rescued last week from a ditch in southwest Miami Dade has been put down.
The two horses, a gray mare dubbed Miracle and a 'gelding' called Trooper, were found stuck in a four foot feet ditch on Friday at SW 168th Street and 199 Avenue. Miami-Dade's large animal rescue unit helped bring the stranded horses to safety.
They were given temporary shelter in the Redland before being brought to the South Florida Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Northwest Miami-Dade Saturday afternoon. "I haven't seen horses in this bad of a condition ever. And I've been around horses 40 years." said SPCA volunteer Vicki Castellano, "It's a reflection of the economy. People can't afford to feed their pets anymore and they're letting them loose."
Tuesday Miracle was euthanized.
In addition Trooper, Laurie Waggoner, who runs the SPCA ranch, is also taking care of another abandoned horse that was rescued from a foreclosed property. "At one time I'm sure they were used as riding horses," she said. "One still has shoes on. I don't believe they walked out there… the animals were dumped out there."
Waggoner's job now is to get the animals on the road to recovery. "They're alert, hungry and on antibiotics," says Waggoner. It isn't cheap. In the last year, the price of feeding a horse has doubled. It goes back to gas. Everything is harder to come by," she explains. It's partially a reason some people are abandoning their pets.
The cost to feed a horse is at least 40 dollars a week and that doesn't include vet bills. The SPCA is now caring for 45 horses and many were in the same shape as the two horses brought in Saturday before being brought back from the brink.
The SPCA in Northwest Miami-Dade relies completely on donations, and they're running out of money. But there's no other choice; leaving the creatures by the road is just not an option. Now, volunteers are looking for somebody to give the animals a new home.
If you want to give a good home, or can make a donation to their cause,
click here to visit their website.
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