Rest In Peace, Sam.
Jennifer Howlett, a Maine Animal Welfare agent visited Sam early this month in Presque Isle and said he was fine.
Agent Howlett reported that he didn't look too bad and the case was closed. She dismissed the complaint, we're told. NickerNews filed a Freedom of Access Act request with Animal Welfare regarding this case. In response, Director Norma Worley sent a notification letter stating that the case is still under investigation and that, as yet, no report has been filed.
Sam was a 20-year old Appaloosa gelding who suffered greatly when his owner divorced from her husband and left the horse with the man, who lacks horse experience.
Sam, registered as "They Cut Me," had been to the World Appaloosa Championships and was the MeApHA Champion in 1999 and 2000. [See bottom photo of Sam in his prime.]
So we can shake heads and our fists at the couple whose thoughtlessness and neglect caused such harm. One might think this would be an obvious case of animal cruelty. But what happened next compounded the problem and certainly contributed to his death.
Sam suffered from horrendous heaves, a massive eye injury and was grossly underweight when the complaint was filed.
When Howlett visited him, she said the eye didn't look that bad and dismissed the heaves. And those protruding hip bones looked that way because he was "big boned," according to those who spoke with Howlett.
She rated Sam a "4" on the Henneke Body Condition Scoring System and saw no reason for a vet to examine him. (An email to Animal Welfare was not returned.)
Shortly after the Animal Welfare visit, friends were finally able to convince the owner to surrender the horse.
Joy Duncan of Presque Isle stepped in to try to save Sam. A day after removing him from the farm, Duncan's vet scored
him at a "2" on the Henneke scale. As most folks know, it can take time for horse neglect to show.
[See article on weight loss and gain, click here, then scroll down to excerpts of research project.]
It's not likely that a horse would slip from 4 to 2 over the course of a few days.
She worked with Sam for weeks and managed to put over 100 pounds on him. But in the end, his heaves overwhelmed him.
He was euthanized today, March 29.
Says Duncan:
"Sam suffered horribly when he didn't have to.
Jen Howlett can't spell horse....She's a nice woman, but she really should not be out there examining horses without someone with her that knows the front end from the back.
"
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So sorry for your loss Joy. If Sam had a chance at all, you certainly gave it to him. Thank you for all you did for him .. May he run healthy and free!!!
Maddy thank you for putting Sam's story out there, and thank you Joy for all you have done! You are so right it is time for change!
I just am so saddened by the loss of this wonderful animal and the manner in which it occurred leaves me speechless. I can't hold any respect for someone who deliberately puts themselves before their children or their animals. Both are innocent and helpless without our help. This was completely unnecessary and it shows that some people have no conscience. I would strongly recommend that the people who did this steer VERY CLEAR of the horse industry in our area for a very long time. There is little compassion or forgiveness when someone spent so many years preaching about their knowledge and abilities only to see what really happened in the end. These people are not openly welcome in a the circle of horse people. You did a wonderful thing Joy, and though I sort of got you into it, I knew it was the very best place he could be for whatever time he may have had left. (as suggested to me this morning by another fellow horse owner.. "The previous owners should be poked in the eye with a stick and left to starve for a year". I think I agree
Joy, Thank you for believing in Sam and making a good home for him. I am sorry he was in so much pain. He was a beautiful animal. I feel your grief...
I agree 100% Margy. The publics perception is that these people know what they are looking at and therefore trust them when they say that nothing is wrong. The people who made the original complaints likely felt that they must have been wrong and went on with their lives. The owners also believed that nothing was wrong with their horse because an Animal Welfare Agent said so......and we all know the rest of the story... No one is ever going to be able to convince me that Sam was ok two weeks prior to being moved to my home. This animal had been suffering for a very long time and it was obvious to other people or there would not have been complaints made that prompted the visit in the first place. He should have been seen by a vet....PERIOD....and maybe he would still be alive today.
He was NOT alright a week or two before. His eye had been damaged and gone for well over a month to a year, according to the Vet who saw him...So, that leads me to believe that no one with any knowledge had seen him, or if they did have knowledge, they just plain didn't care. He had an episode, again, according to the examining Vet that night, where he saved Sam from respiratory failure in the middle of the summer. So his illnesses have been there for awhile and were blatantly too much bother for the owners..of which there were two. But the almighty dollar was more important to obtain by selling him than a good home to care for him. We see how well that worked. And the report that was made and the resulting visit by Jen, was questionned as "a ploy for someone to get the horse for nothing". PUUULLEEEZZ
From people i've talked to the Maine Welfare agent was there the first week in March and noticed that the horse was fine. Joy took control of the horse two weeks later after the agents visit and after 10 days in the care of Joy he was put down. It sounds to me she didn't put my effort into saving him...I don't understand how a horse can get that bad in two weeks time espically after a Maine Agent has visited the animal...
I took an animal in that should have been vetted by his owners and wasn't. He should have been seen by a vet for his eye injury at the very least when the Maine Agent was there but he wasn't. I brought him to my house and spent many sleepless nights and lots of $$$'s trying to fix their screw up and you have the nerve to say that "I" didn't give this animal a chance? Sorry, but that is just TOO FUNNY!!!Sam didn't get that way in 2 weeks time, you're right!!! He suffered a LONG time and no one did a damned thing about it.
I was this horses farrier years ago. He was one great guy. You had to love him. The owners were not stupid people - they knew horses. They just didn't care. As for Ms Worley, head of animal welfare for the state, she's a bureaucrat and her hands are tied. That's her story and she's sticking to it. Don't expect much from her. I learned that years ago dealing with her when I was involved with an animal welfare organization.
Sooo sorry for you loss. Has anyone heard of a follow up on the horses from Fair Play..I know many had been moved or sold...whats up with them?
Thank you for narrowing that time frame down for us for when the Maine Welfare agent was there, that is a big help. As one of the 5 horse people who were present shortly after Sam came off the trailer on March 18 I can assure you he was not fine then. The pictures you see here on this report were taken that night, Thursday March 18, 2010. I can assure you that every effort was made to reverse the condition Sam arrived in. It just wasnt in the cards. To make a statement like.. it sounds to me that she didnt put effort into saving him, is mind boggling. you werent there. Nor do you have any idea of the actual cost in $$ let alone human emotion this kind of rescue takes. No this horse did not get in the condition he was in, in two short weeks, however saying especially after the Maine Agent visited the animal?indicates that visit made it all right. That just proves my earlier statement that because the agent didn?t require a veterinary exam and didn?t give a fair assessment of this horses condition that the uninformed make the assumption that he looked like he did in Oct. when the agent saw him and that just isn?t so. The agent said his hips stuck out like that because he was big boned. Horses are not cattle they are not supposed to have dairy character.
I do not agree at ALL that it should be hush hush. Too many cases go under the wire. We feel obligated to get the information out. It is more to prove the lack of responsibility by the State than the owners. IF those people can have the lack of conscience to do that to the animal then they sure as heck aren't gonna be worried about surrender. These people still dont' think they did anything wrong. It's like any other abuse or neglect, keep it quiet and no one will know. That's nonsense. The State doesnt' intend to do anything to correct the issue, so I guess a good old public forum allows people to express how they feel. It might not be the best way to do it, but in our current situations around the state, it appears to be the ONLY way anyone will listen. Besides, if you read the BDN today, there are healthy cows roaming around a neighborhood but the State is threatening to seize them...COZ THEY APPEAR HEALTHY and they can get rid of them easier than an animal in illhealth and starving to death....