Facebook campaign prompts owner to give up 24 horses
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NEAR CENTRALIA, Wash. -- Horse lovers took to Facebook, demanding something be done.
As a result, 24 horses were taken from a farm east of Centralia after one was found dead by the side of the road.
Some of the seized animals were in poor shape, mainly due to malnutrition. But all now are being fed and cared for, and will soon be up for adoption.
The animals were found living in muddy conditions in shelters ready to fall down. Horse lovers who passed by the property saw the malnourished animals. And when they saw the dead horse on the side of the road, they took to Facebook where word spread quickly and a campaign began.
"My first thing was to think, 'If it's a dead horse there and a bunch of horses that are not being fed well, why do they still have the horses?'" said Amanda Sanders, a horse lover.
The owner of the horses, Gerald Specht, says he didn't mean for anything to go wrong.
"They were always fed. They were fed daily. (I had) just too many of them, I guess," he said.
While the sheriff was investigating accusations of animal cruelty, the Washington State Livestock Coalition came along. It took some convincing, but the volunteer group said Specht agreed to hand over the horses.
"(We) kind of did a little counseling with them, talked them into doing the right thing. And I think everybody is going to be a lot better off for it," said Daniel Venable of the Washington State Livestock Coalition.
Specht and his wife have been through tough times. Their house burned down, and they are now living in a tent.
Vic Mott with the coalition said the Spechts' situation has a lot to do with their "age, and a lack of enthusiasm to keeping the place
up."
"And we just don't want to see them go any further and get into any more trouble then they're in," Mott said.
The coalition also took 30 goats.
It was not clear whether the animal cruelty investigation is ongoing.
As a result, 24 horses were taken from a farm east of Centralia after one was found dead by the side of the road.
Some of the seized animals were in poor shape, mainly due to malnutrition. But all now are being fed and cared for, and will soon be up for adoption.
The animals were found living in muddy conditions in shelters ready to fall down. Horse lovers who passed by the property saw the malnourished animals. And when they saw the dead horse on the side of the road, they took to Facebook where word spread quickly and a campaign began.
"My first thing was to think, 'If it's a dead horse there and a bunch of horses that are not being fed well, why do they still have the horses?'" said Amanda Sanders, a horse lover.
The owner of the horses, Gerald Specht, says he didn't mean for anything to go wrong.
"They were always fed. They were fed daily. (I had) just too many of them, I guess," he said.
While the sheriff was investigating accusations of animal cruelty, the Washington State Livestock Coalition came along. It took some convincing, but the volunteer group said Specht agreed to hand over the horses.
"(We) kind of did a little counseling with them, talked them into doing the right thing. And I think everybody is going to be a lot better off for it," said Daniel Venable of the Washington State Livestock Coalition.
Specht and his wife have been through tough times. Their house burned down, and they are now living in a tent.
Vic Mott with the coalition said the Spechts' situation has a lot to do with their "age, and a lack of enthusiasm to keeping the place
up."
"And we just don't want to see them go any further and get into any more trouble then they're in," Mott said.
The coalition also took 30 goats.
It was not clear whether the animal cruelty investigation is ongoing.
Based on just the news story, it very well could be a classic case of hoarding. In this case, animals instead of inanimate objects. Hoarding often seems to take shape around objects that have significance in the person's life. I had a client who was a contractor at one time.....he hoarded home construction materials such as hundreds of tubes of silican calk. This couple may have been farmers at one time, and may even have cared for their animals appropriately in the past. But hoarding can develop over time and usually does not get better with age.
In that case, it is a mental illness on the part of the horse owners and one should have compassion for both sides of the relationship. Hoarders are often unable to see what is obvious right in front of them.....they don't see the horses are starving. They don't realize they can't care for them. It really is up to the community to step in and provide support services.....thank goodness for the horse folks for stepping up to act compassionately towards all involved and getting him to relinquish the horses. Now it is also important for other service providers.....such as Senior Services or DSHS to step up and help these individuals who I feel may fall under the classification of "vulnerable adults" who need attention. I hope the Sheriff's office makes the correct referral, and for those wishing to help one way is to keep the pressure on for that to happen.
I grew up less than a mile from this farm. The previous owner who passed away when I was a child kept it beautifully. I was always saddened and amazed when I would drive by that it had gone to ruin. I can remember seeing goats standing on broken down vehicles and muddy animals everywhere. I'm glad someone is finding a happier place for these poor creatures and I hope this means the eyesore farm gets cleaned up a bit. It is anything but sanitary.Â
@Sarah Why did you just keep driving by waiting for somebody else to do the 'right' thing? Disgusting.
@whenudieitsdone @Sarah I moved away from Centralia over 15 years ago. Neighbors, including my family, reported this place to the humane society several times but nothing came of it. It is clearly much worse now than when I was living in the area.
Im glad that the owners were "counseled" into giving them up.   But for all thats good, if your home burns down and you dont have any money and are living in a tent the last thing on earth you need in your life is a horse.   As posters have already stated, they are truly expensive animals to own.  An average bale of alphalfa can last 2 horses roughly 4 days....thats with the weather being fairly mild right now.  That doesnt take into account the cost of grain, suppliments, wormers, vet care, farrier, etc.    Horses are a delight to own, but before you own even one you need to be financially prepared to take care of them properly.    Â
'I used to have money, then I got a horse.'
Such a true bumper sticker. ONE horse runs in the neighborhood of at least $150/month for general maintenance (feed, teeth floating, shoeing if you shoe, etc.) -can't imagine having 23!
I'm glad the owners did the right thing and hope they get assistance as well.
Feeding a horse 2 lbs. of feed isn't feeding a horse, it's starving it. Â I have no idea how much the owner was feeding the horses, but just one look at that picture is all it takes to know something is wrong. Â If an animal is receiving proper care, it doesn't lose weight.
 So wait, hundredds of people could rally to convince these people to give up their herds so that other people could volunteer to take care of the animals but no-one could be bothered to help the humans who were suffering? Seriously? No fundraiser to build them a cottage/barn. No donations of food and time to help care for the horses in their home? No-one to help the people get back on their feet? Just ridicule that they couldn't handle their responsibilities to the animals? And I'm sure everyone feels so noble that they helped "save" the horses and goats. How about a little compassion for your fellow man? Jerks.
@SecularHumanist I'm with you on this one. I am from Oregon where KATU aired this story via KOMO, and when my gut reaction was to say HEY WHAT CAN BE DONE TO HELP THIS COUPLE AS WELL, they sent me to KOMO's desk. I have to tell you, the gentleman who answered my call made it pretty clear, it's all about the horses from his perspective and this couple simply don't deserve to be viewed with any compassion. And yet they put in the story that their house burned down. They've encountered hardships. People need to realize how fast a life can be turned around and how quickly depression and overwhelm can happen. Add to it these folks age and you have a recipe for struggle. I own many pets, and I get how much care is involved. I also have had trauma happen in my world, and I can bet, these folks need as much support as they do help collecting themselves in as far as being responsible. KOMO phone guy, try a little compassion and before you judge consider a whole perspective not just a gut reaction.
It should be the owners "responsibility" to see that their financial status cant withstand feeding 24 horses and goats.    If your home burns down and your living in a tent, its time to give up the horses & goats.  There are lots of animal people out their ready and willing to take those animals off your hands.   I feel for these people I really do, but come on.   If your living situation is that bad, dont take on more mouths to feed.
@SecularHumanistPoor planning on the owner's part does not constitute an emergency on our part. Â It is not our job to feed someone's animals. Â However, it is our job to report abuse.
@Ma_Kettle @SecularHumanist Poor planning that their house burned down? Come on. It may not be your job to feed someone else's animals but you could show some compassion from one human being to another.
I'm glad they were given a choice, and that they made the right choice to give up their animals - sparing them further suffering while a case was being made. If they are living in a tent themselves, they are in no condition to care for such a large number of animals that need so much care. I hope both the couple and all their pets have happier ends than what they were experiencing.
And what are these horse lovers going to do with 24 horses and 30 goats? If they can't properly manage them, it should be horse burger time. Better than starving more animals to death.
@concerned_citizen What a vile response. There are other animal lovers who are willing to take these animals in and feed, love, and care for them until their lives come to a natural end. There are also many other caregivers at local auctions saving horses from being shipped to Mexico and China feedlots . Just because somebody can't care for animals doesn't mean they need to go to the feedlot for your next meal.Â
This situation is truly sad all the way 'round. These people sound like they loved those horses, and they may not be eating much better? Often, people who really love horses, won't give them up because they think the horses will go straight to slaughter. And it happens too, so those fears are not unfounded. I guess the question nagging me is, doesn't this elderly couple have family anywhere that could help them instead of allowing them to live in a tent? And why did it take a dead horse, on the side of the road, to spur neighbors into action? Surely this starvation was obvious earlier than that?
If you can't properly care for your animals, then you need to give them up. Plain and simple. Why make them suffer?
kitsapuser has it right. Â Now let's see what can be done to help the humans. Â Senior citizens living in a tent in the winter time in Centralia? Â Cause for concern.
I'm glad the animals are in better hands and are being taken care of.
Now how about the humans? Does anyone care? Living in a tent in the winter is not exactly fun especially for people who don't sound like they're in their first youth.
@kitsapuser Agreed. Now that the animals have been removed, I would hope someone has directed these people to an appropriate agency for some help finding an apartment. It sounds like it is long past time to sell a property they can't maintain or insure.
I would love to own a couple horses. I've been around them and loved them all my life. But I'm also realistic. I don't have the time, money nor space on my property to properly care for one, let alone 2 or 3 horses. So I'm sticking to giving 5 hours of my time a week for two 45 minute riding lessons and renting a horse when I go out to Ocean Shores for a couple hours to go up and down the beach.
I'm glad they were convinced to do the right thing. Falling on hard times is no excuse for allowing your animals to slip into such poor conditions. You either surrender them when you can't manage them anymore, or you ask for help so that you can keep at least some of them with assistance from others. Hopefully the couple in question get some assistance with their shelter situation and can be persuaded not to take on animals again until they're certain they have money saved in case things go wrong for them again. It's sad when someone is convinced they were feeding and caring for their animals and yet admits they had too many to care for properly in the same sentence.
I would own to own horses but am realistic on how much space, care, attention and money they need. Some people need to think about these things before deciding to bring animals home. Glad to hear they are all being taken care of now.
@Robinsnest Same here. I have a long list of animals that I would love to own but just know I shouldn't. I think even one horse would be too much for me to care for properly. I can't imagine having 24!