Ok, we obviously have two camps here.
1st, yes, innocent until proven guilty. However, please folks understand this is Maine, not LA, not NC, not even CT, its maine, and the law states horses must be provided shelter from Nov1 - APril 1. End of story. PP didn’t have it last winter, and hasn’t done much to have shelter ready for Nov1. I know of people who keep their horses out 24/7, but they have access to a barn or run in. Trees up here are not considered shelter. Please remember, we are talking zone 4 or maybe zone 5. Some of you who think no shelter is fine live in zone 6, 7 and 8…so please, understand the difference in our climate, AND the length of our winters. Cold is easier I think on some horses, but cold meaning 40 degrees, not below freezing temps, which require a horse to use more fuel to keep warm. Right now, my temps are around 32 at night, and 50’s in day, and this is nothing. This can run a horse down, and you do need to increase feed to increase fuel to keep weight. As I said on another thread, my hard keepers get blanketed 24/7 because I cannot keep them in weight. I am not one to think its ‘normal’ to have a thin horse in the spring.
2nd, ACO has been working with her for a year, she has prior animal cruelty convictions. So, she leaves her farm, and hopefully hired a caretaker who obviously was slack on the job.
3rd, Aco is informed, leaves a note, no response, and comes the next day to seize the horses, who are in fair weight. However, and I have mentioned this before…ACO most likely legally cannot just fill up the water tanks and become PP’s farm sitter. They would be liable after receipt of a complaint stating the owner is gone for an extended period of time(once again) and horses are without care and abandoned. They don’t know she is at weg, they don’t know when she is coming back, etc, etc
ACO I do believe would be liable if something happened, and the easist thing to do is take the horses into custody.
As far as the neighbors…I don’t give a fricking butt about them or what they say. I am only going by what I saw in the pics and video, and the fact that ACO has been working with her for a year and she has a prior.
Anita M…yes, I am terribly concerned about horses being born in that environment. As someone mentioned, what do you do if you have a sick horse or a stall bound horse?
I am not trying to bash, I don’t really have to do much to just be critical, the pictures speak for themselves.
Neighbors, we all know to take with a grain of salt.
However, as also previously stated, a woman living alone with fibromyalgia and no electricity is a recipe for disaster. God knows, sometimes I find it hard to manage 10 horses, and I have heated water buckets, hoses, stalls, frost free hydrants. Going to a stream for water…are you kidding me? My streams freeze in january. And there is no way I am hauling water, and although older than PP, I am healthy.
Its certainly her choice, and if she can do it provide adequate care, then more power to her. But, obviously, at least to some of us, this has not been the case.
the no shelter coming onto another(2nd) winter, to me is reason to seize…that alone. Its not november, but aco came upon abandoned animals…whats s/he suppose to do, wait till she comes home? S/he can’t…they have to act.
Personally, I suspect that most people feel a brief moment of agony and then die after someone blows their head off. Guilt seems a little - odd.