Animal ignorance

This article is about people having animals that should not.  I remember a couple of cases of ignorance about animal husbandry and the tragic effects on the animals entrusted to their care.

There are cases that I think of decades after the conclusion of the case.  My worst ones are those that involve neglect.  Neglect to feed, water and properly house animals give me the biggest nightmares.   This does cause instantaneous elevation of blood pressure, unchristian thoughts and a desire to place parts of the owner's anatomy in impossible unreachable openings.  Some cases make me wonder how their head was inserted so far in anyway.  It is my personal opinion the people involved in these cases neglect to be human.  I have a real problem with people not feeding and caring for even just the basic needs of an animal.  I admit my cats and dog are not being fed at the same minute every day.  Anyone with a non-fixed schedule understands you also are not getting a meal by the clock that day either.  Many things can delay a meal.  I am talking about intentionally omitting meals and water for extended periods. 

I have served as an expert witness for neglect cases. One of the cases I am referring to is where.  Three steers broke out of this confinement.   They were running loose in a field.  This actually caused the investigation.  They were out in the road and were a traffic hazard.   I do not know how any one with an ounce of human kindness could neglect animals in their care in such a manner. 

I remember a case close to town that happened in the spring of a year.   It was starting to warm up and green grass was just peaking through the old sod.  Dr Green grass is the best tonic for old horses and other equines.  Late March or early April would be a fair estimate of time of the year.  I went on this farm call as a veterinarian to examine a wobbly horse and a pony that had died.  This place previously had horses but the outside paddocks were gone.  The horse and pony were both stalled inside all the time.  The horse was so thin you could use each hipbone as a hat rack for a sombrero.   I questioned the "owner" about what he had been purchasing for feed.   It was some ridiculous small quantity of hay and sweet feed grain.  He last purchased ten bales of hay and a fifty-pound bag of grain at the same time.   He did admit this was about three maybe four months ago.  If you have ever seen horses and ponies eat you, understand the term "hay burner".  This tiny amount of available nutrition is an insultingly small amount for what should have been an eleven hundred pound horse and a four to five hundred pound pony.   The stalls were lined with chewed horizontal boards from the horse and pony chewing on them.  This went beyond the stable vice of "cribbing" that bored equines will do.

I spoke with the owner and cautioned the horse was not very steady on his feet.  I told him he was in bad shape and would probably go down.  It would be best if he could locate some hay, as green grass was not up enough to get adequate nutrition into the horse.  He did get some hay and some of his friends came over to help as the horse went down.  He was eating almost non-stop.  I contacted the authorities, as I could not ignore the situation.  The owner obviously did not have a clue how to adequately care for horses.  I hate to be the enforcer but I was considerably leaner, tougher, and just as opinionated as I am now.   I had a friend stop by as he recognized my truck and saw all the other people there.  He was concerned when he stopped.  He counted six people, saw how upset I was and figured if anything happened it would be a fair outcome.  Unfortunately, the horse passed away chewing on a mouthful of hay.

The worst time for starved horses is the spring.  The ability of an animal to sustain its body mass is impaired beyond reality.  All of the body's reserves are below maintenance levels.  The animal is in a very negative plane of nutrition.   Thought process is almost at a standstill.   They become ataxic wobbly and will fall down and become lateral.  A horse or cow will make a version of "Mud Angels" where they lay down.  The legs wear a groove in whatever substrate they are laying on.  The head may wear a groove from arching back and forth.  Mud is a polite word over manure pack.   These grooves are because they lack the strength to get up.  Abrasions develop on the down side of the animal.  Friction causes tissue damage especially over boney protuberances.  This is not a fun thing to see.  It is repulsive and disgusting.  It is inhumane and morally wrong to neglect feeding and caring for these critters.
 
Think of food as the energy source needed to replace muscle and tissues as they wear out.  Food has the building blocks of protein, carbohydrates and fat.  There are limited available vitamins and minerals available in food types offered as a food source to a species of animal.  They need other supplements to give complete nutrition.  Too little until too late is what happens.  If people cannot afford feed, they cannot afford animals at this time.  Sell them or give them to someone that can.  

There are a bucketful of reasons from the legal caretaker why a set of animals were neglected, starved and deprived of water.  No matter how they pronounce their reasons, they still sound untrue. 

Abandonment is not an option either.

For more information about a specific case, consult your veterinarian.         
The outside of a pet is good for the inside of a human.