Someone called AC on me...HAPPY update post 137

[freshman]

[QUOTE=Sannois;7033592]
That would seriously piss me off, The woman is an idiot, But what pisses me off, is why does animal control have time for a call like that but when there are starving on their last legs cases they have to be almost dead before they respond. Nuts! :mad:[/QUOTE]

Why are you mad that they did their job in this case? How on earth does animal control or other responsible public authority know that this horse or any other animal that is reported isn’t in “on their last legs” unless they investigate? They received a complaint about a horse with a wound, they investigated it, and were satisfied that its condition was being appropriately and actively managed by the owner and under treatment by a veterinarian. So what is the problem? Case closed, have a nice day! Then authorities are free to move on to the other cases/complaints, some of which turn out to be the dreadful ones you describe. Again, how do they know unless they investigate or check on complaints from the public?

I’m sure the person who reported the OP’s horse described a horse on the property with a huge gaping and discharging wound that had not been ever treated (that she’d ever seen or noticed, which is true enough, probably, though not at all accurate). God knows there are cases where this happens and all anyone sees from the street is a horse with an ugly wound like the OP’s horse, so thank god people call when concerned!

Those that are outraged by AC asking questions in this case are even more outraged they hear about cases that had been reported but were never investigated or otherwise appropriately addressed. The agency even gave the property owner a head’s up that whoever complained had likely been trespassing on her property, for god’s sake! This is favor, a valuable one that the property owner can use to protect themselves, so take it kindly!

I have been subject to AC’s scrutiny, myself, after I called them on an at-large dog that was behaving aggressively outside my fence and had been roaming the neighborhood for several days. By the time AC got to my address 30 minutes later, I had returned to my house to answer a phone call, and the stray dog was gone. But the AC officer knocked on my door, unsure if I was the one who complained or not, but did want to comment on one of my own dogs that had a large tumor on it’s side. So I told her about Maggie’s lipoma and how it was diagnosed by my veterinarian, just a benign fatty tumor, etc, and offered to produce the records, if she needed them to be satisfied. No problem, no offense. She was just happy that the big mass on my dog’s side wasn’t a significant health problem that hadn’t been diagnosed or addresssed, as she had to fear, in her line of work. Quite reasonable, IMO. This is her job! And I have nothing to hide and would have had no problem showing them the vet records. Hell, it was a huge ugly thing that I’d have had removed in a heartbeat if it were causing her discomfort or risking her heath at all, but couldn’t justify doing surgery on it at her advanced age and with the other health conditions she had going on, etc, just because I was tired of looking at it. Again, she agent was just glad to know that the animal was OK, was satisfied by my initial verbal information/response to her query, and did not require me to submit any reports or records. We wished each other well and I thanked her for her concern as she left!

[goneriding24]

[QUOTE=freshman;7034985]
Why are you mad that they did their job in this case? How on earth does animal control or other responsible public authority know that this horse or any other animal that is reported isn’t in “on their last legs” unless they investigate? They received a complaint about a horse with a wound, they investigated it, and were satisfied that its condition was being appropriately and actively managed by the owner and under treatment by a veterinarian. So what is the problem? Case closed, have a nice day! Then authorities are free to move on to the other cases/complaints, some of which turn out to be the dreadful ones you describe. Again, how do they know unless they investigate or check on complaints from the public?

I’m sure the person who reported the OP’s horse described a horse on the property with a huge gaping and discharging wound that had not been ever treated (that she’d ever seen or noticed, which is true enough, probably, though not at all accurate). God knows there are cases where this happens and all anyone sees from the street is a horse with an ugly wound like the OP’s horse, so thank god people call when concerned!

Those that are outraged by AC asking questions in this case are even more outraged they hear about cases that had been reported but were never investigated or otherwise appropriately addressed. The agency even gave the property owner a head’s up that whoever complained had likely been trespassing on her property, for god’s sake! This is favor, a valuable one that the property owner can use to protect themselves, so take it kindly!

I have been subject to AC’s scrutiny, myself, after I called them on an at-large dog that was behaving aggressively outside my fence and had been roaming the neighborhood for several days. By the time AC got to my address 30 minutes later, I had returned to my house to answer a phone call, and the stray dog was gone. But the AC officer knocked on my door, unsure if I was the one who complained or not, but did want to comment on one of my own dogs that had a large tumor on it’s side. So I told her about Maggie’s lipoma and how it was diagnosed by my veterinarian, just a benign fatty tumor, etc, and offered to produce the records, if she needed them to be satisfied. No problem, no offense. She was just happy that the big mass on my dog’s side wasn’t a significant health problem that hadn’t been diagnosed or addresssed, as she had to fear, in her line of work. Quite reasonable, IMO. This is her job! And I have nothing to hide and would have had no problem showing them the vet records. Hell, it was a huge ugly thing that I’d have had removed in a heartbeat if it were causing her discomfort or risking her heath at all, but couldn’t justify doing surgery on it at her advanced age and with the other health conditions she had going on, etc, just because I was tired of looking at it. Again, she agent was just glad to know that the animal was OK, was satisfied by my initial verbal information/response to her query, and did not require me to submit any reports or records. We wished each other well and I thanked her for her concern as she left![/QUOTE]

My thoughts are after reading your post, I’m not comfortable with anyone who can just come out and maybe require I show them my paperwork on my horses or dogs. Too subjective for me. Sure, I have nothing to hide, but I’m not offering paperwork to anyone unless a court orders it. If the AC had had a bad day and was looking to nitpick, my place is not the place to take it out on. Just because some dingbat calls in and has a cow because some animal doesn’t look to her standards and then cost the county money to come out, only to find nothing is wrong, I’m not playing.

And you’re wrong that some of us who object to AC coming out for nothing would be the first to be outraged, not me. In the overall scheme of things, there are far more people who take care of their livestock and animals than not.

[Rockfish]

This.

[Meredith_Clark]

[QUOTE=carolprudm;7034404]
State laws vary but here in VA unless property is posted OR you have notified the person she is not welcomed it is generally assumed that trespassing is OK. Landowners have limited responsibilities to tresspassers so if she got kicked you probably wouldn’t be responsible. If she lets the horses out however you will probably be in big trouble.

I would send her a certified letter stating that she is not to enter my property and that if she does she will be prosecuted.

I’ve been reported to AC because my horses were standing in mud[/QUOTE]

I had an issue with a neighbor coming into my rented pasture to yell at me for… riding my horse (at a walk)… so my landlord posted “No Trespassing” signs on every fence post.

They all mysteriously fell off that night.

[S1969]

[QUOTE=goneriding24;7035069]
My thoughts are after reading your post, I’m not comfortable with anyone who can just come out and maybe require I show them my paperwork on my horses or dogs. [/QUOTE]

I’m sure laws vary, but I don’t think that they can demand that you show paperwork. I’m not even sure they can do anything but ask if you’ll talk to them based only on a complaint.

We have called AC on a neighbor and were very disappointed in the results. It could be just that particular AC officer, but I did not get the impression that there was much “teeth” behind his position.

One thing we did find out was that our AC officer (or one of them, at least) was woefully ignorant about horses. He knew a lot about dogs, but virtually nothing about horses. I’m sure there are wide ranges of knowledge, and it probably depends on the area in which you live…but this guy might have believed that horses were blindfolded.

[halo]

I have no problem with someone calling AC with an issue they perceive could be a problem. Thats what AC is for. It sounds like for 95% of these calls, they find there is nothing wrong. However, that being said, it probably is a good idea for horse owners to be just a little pro active. If you have a horse with a gaping wound that you are treating, or an elderly horse who is skinny (like I had), just dont put them in a paddock on the road where every car that drives by can see them. It will just save yourself aggravation.

[microbovine]

Calling AC or the police or the fire department, for that matter, I don’t really care if it turns out to be a false alarm. In fact, I prefer it that way.

If I had driven by a horse that appeared to have a wound for over a month, I might wonder too. I probably wouldn’t call if the wound appeared to change for the better, though. If you count up the times that we are visibly out with our horses per day, the chances that a casual observer would actually catch us out there are slim. I’m sure most of our horses look unattended to a passerby.

The good news is that many of the stupider calls are routinely ignored, such as, “why does that person blindfold their horses” (fly mask) or “why does that poor horse have a blanket on in this heat” (fly sheet). You would be surprised.

[hundredacres]

[QUOTE=magicteetango;7034529]
I would never call AC on someone unless I saw serious neglect, and probably more than one thin horse. To the best of my knowledge they need to be very bad before AC can/will step in.

My neighbors had a very thin mare and I stopped for hay and asked about her, saying how cute I thought she was (true, I have been a fan for something like… 6 years? I used to drive past her from my old apartment and now they are old family friends of my husband). She wasn’t always that thin but got thrifty over the winters. Everyone else looks great but her. She is 33 years old, their niece’s first horse, and gets senior feed and hay and every spring, which I mentioned to them, she seems to plump right back up. I made it a friendly conversation, they tell me how she is every time they see me, and all of their others as well.

Granted not every conversation will end that well, but I felt confident that she was well cared for. And I see her at least twice a week as I drive by. OP I would have been absolutely satisfied with that conversation.

Although I do agree with tidyrabbit, I have nothing to hide from AC and they’re more than welcome to stop up. I would be very upset at the idea of people wandering my property however, my one mare is nearly blind, I have a two year old filly still using manners, and a little Shetland whose weight I am very on top of. And electric fence.[/QUOTE]

I tend to do the same - stop and talk to the owner, ask if they need help, info, etc. I did that once where there was a terribly skinny mare and learned it was the adult daughters first horse in it’s upper 20’s, and the daughter just had a very ill baby that wasn’t expected to live. The woman didn’t have the heart to euthanize the horse at that time (couldn’t blame her). We chatted and she brought me over to see the horse and she was bright eyed and well cared for - had a fly mask, fly spray, shelter, grain, pasture, etc. A couple of months later I saw evidence that a tractor had been in the field and the mare was gone.

People love to play judge and jury before they even know the facts. I was screamed at yesterday while driving my car “get off your phone you dumb &^%$#^%$!”…I wasn’t even on my phone but I was playing with my earring.

[dogontired]

[QUOTE=IdahoRider;7033644]
Also, I think a lot of people have a hard time understanding that even though you have a sign out, advertising boarding, that doesn’t mean you are “open” to the general public. I was finishing up in the arena the other morning and a strange man pulled in from the road and stood around by the arena gate. I asked him if I could help him and he explained that he lived down the road and wanted to know if he could “rent” the arena for his daughters to ride in when he didn’t have the time to haul them to the arena their riding group practices in. Now, mind you, there is no sign up where I board. But he had seen the barn through the trees, trucks and trailers (lots of people haul in here for lessons) and the arena, and figured it was a “public” facility that he could just pull into.[/QUOTE]

the barn we boarded at in Chagrin had 2 signs, one saying “Stalls Available” with phone #, and one of equal size that says “Private”. Maybe this would help with the fellow who showed up at your place? I just hope his daughters don’t ride down the road and let themselves into your arena…

[dogontired]

[QUOTE=Laurierace;7034536]
The sheriff showed up at our barn one day and said they had a report of a rabid fox in the barn area. [/QUOTE]

Laurierace, spit my coffee out on your pic. On a completely unrelated note, I acquired my 1st pom when I was still in grad school, and he was 12 weeks old when I carried him in his bag to airport security (back in the day) in Albuquerque, as we were flying back to TX for school. The guy at the security/x-ray point demanded that I produce my license to export wildlife from NM, said my Tyler was a baby fox (cub? can’t remember now what they are called). He was completely nonplussed when I showed him the AKC registration that clearly stated “red sable Pomeranian” :lol:

[Laurierace]

She is a “foxy lady” so we just laughed it off. He did not make me show him her rabies tag either, just said"never mind" and got back in his car.

[dogontired]

[QUOTE=BuddyRoo;7034794]
Sometimes you just have to say “Well bless your heart”…in the Southern way.[/QUOTE]

and if they are really dense, moderate to say “Bless your little heart”…

Am late reading this thread, sorry I didn’t get to it sooner, am enjoying the llama drama.

OP, jingles for your mare, we had a gelding go through 2 wood fences (ran through 1st fence, stallion lane, then tripped and fell into 2d fence) about 10 years ago at a barn we boarded at. Thank heavens he had on a mid-weight t/o blanket, but when he fell face-first into the 2d fence, he broke his septum. Mind you, no blood except the drips out of his nose, but the vet wrapped his face up with vet-wrap (sorry, no pun intended here). Killian turned out fine, but boy were there some funny stories about the fight that he got into with the fence and how the fence won. Still has a nice dent in his face right under his noseband.

[shea_smom]

I agree that calling was ok.
I had the opposite happen. I have a very troublesome dog. She can get out of everything but 6 foot kennel, but I think the day is coming. I sometimes tie her in the barn aisle so she can get more attention from the boarders and play with the dogs. She somehow managed to get caught over a short wall and get stuck. My neighbors in-laws were driving in, went and told my friend I must be mad at the dog and had her tied so she couldn’t move.
I couldn’t believe she didn’t call me on it!
Luckily I found her quickly. But i wish they had stopped and said something, or called.
I don’t tie her there anymore. She could be loose, if she would stop jumping on the car hoods of the boarders she especially likes, i.e. the Lexus owner.

[js]

It would have been nice had the AC officer called the lady who filed the complaint back and told her that her call was unwarranted and that her trespassing was against the law and was reported to the farm owner. Would also be nice if AC or police could fine and individual say $50 for unwarranted calls etc. Perhaps that would stop nosy neighbors or people driving by from making harassing calls etc.

[IdahoRider]

It would have been nice had the AC officer called the lady who filed the complaint back and told her that her call was unwarranted and that her trespassing was against the law and was reported to the farm owner. Would also be nice if AC or police could fine and individual say $50 for unwarranted calls etc. Perhaps that would stop nosy neighbors or people driving by from making harassing calls etc.

Why would we want to penalize anyone for doing the right thing, though? Do we know for a fact that the caller wasn’t contacted by the ACO to explain that the horse was checked on and the owner’s claims were verified?

What constitutes “unwarranted” in these cases? When someone calls AC after contacting the owner themselves and not being satisfied with that answer? How is the person supposed to know when the owner is being truthful? I doubt people who are ignoring a serious wound or starving their horse(s), etc. readily admit to it when some stranger contacts them with concerns. Who isn’t going to come up with a story to explain away those concerns?

What if a person has made three calls to AC that prove to be unfounded, as was the case in the OP’s situation? They are warned that if they make another unfounded call they will be fined, so they decide not to call on the next situation they see that really does need some official attention. How does that work in anyone’s favor? Is it okay for that animal to suffer because someone else felt unduly put upon to answer AC’s questions two weeks ago, or a month ago or a year ago?

ACOs are not psychic. They can’t tell when someone calls and is concerned about the condition of an animal if that person has a legitimate cause for concern or if they are an idiot. They are bound to treat each call as if there is merit enough to check it out. Just like the person contacting the owner can’t tell if they have really done X, Y and Z to address the situation (as the OP had done) or if they are just blowing smoke. Nobody can read minds, so the next best move is to check out the story.

Think back to that trainer a couple of years ago that beat the horse to death while it was tied up to a tree. It was all over the internet and if I remember correctly, COTH opined for many, many pages over a very long period of time. And the question came up again and again asking why nobody called AC and reported it, or why nobody stopped it. If we follow the thinking of many in this thread, the woman doing the beating could have just said, “I am training this horse to stand tied” and that would have been the end of the story. Asked and answered, right? It would then be unacceptable to ask for proof? Or to decide without any horse knowledge that the woman is full of sh*t? It is wrong to not know what a fly mask is, but it is okay to not know what constitutes training and to follow up with a call to AC?

I don’t get it at all. Some people are asking for the impossible.
Sheilah

[ESG]

[QUOTE=Dreamwalker;7033747]
I had AC called on me after a prospective buyer rode my mare and loved her. Mare for sale had a patch, smaller than the palm of my hand, of rain scald. It was being treated and really wasn’t an issue. AC came out and were very happy with everything. The next day the prospective buyer rings and offers that now AC have been out she will purchase mare for less than half my asking price:mad: I declined. AC rang a few weeks later to tell me prospective buyer was using this as a tactic to try and push price down on several horses she had looked at and would I be interested in making a formal complaint to stop this woman from wasting their very scarce resources. Yep, I was pretty keen to do that:) I still feel quite indignant about it and it was years ago![/QUOTE]

Wow - I’ve heard some crazy buyer stories before (and lived more than a couple myself ) but this takes the cake. :rolleyes: Does the woman not realize that calling AC on sellers is a really rotten way to try to get the price down? Sheesh.

[Martha_Drum]

I had a pissed off ex-boarder call AC on me when I was running a college equestrian program. The inspector from the state Department of Agriculture (which in that state licenses riding stables and riding instructors annually) was waiting when I got back from dropping off my own horse for surgery at the area clinic. I of course told him he was welcome to look around anywhere, feed room, tack room, etc. and that I’d show him the records for how often the lesson horses were used (a state requirement), but he waved his hand and said he’d already seen everything was fine and that somebody just had a “hair across their ass.”

Well, I was just about to start teaching a class of Equine Science students, so I asked him to come talk to them about his Department’s role in inspecting and licensing farms and trainers, and what his background was, what else they do, the horse industry generally, etc., and he came in and gave a pretty interesting lecture, including some different career options…so you know, lemonade out of lemons

Jingles for the horse with the impalement. Is that a word?

[ESG]

Originally posted by Sheilagh “Think back to that trainer a couple of years ago that beat the horse to death while it was tied up to a tree. It was all over the internet and if I remember correctly, COTH opined for many, many pages over a very long period of time. And the question came up again and again asking why nobody called AC and reported it, or why nobody stopped it. If we follow the thinking of many in this thread, the woman doing the beating could have just said, “I am training this horse to stand tied” and that would have been the end of the story. Asked and answered, right? It would then be unacceptable to ask for proof? Or to decide without any horse knowledge that the woman is full of sh*t? It is wrong to not know what a fly mask is, but it is okay to not know what constitutes training and to follow up with a call to AC?”

Just FYI - AC are not the police. And since no one would 'fess up to having witnessed the beating, how would one go about calling AC? And believe you me, everything that could have been done about that situation, WAS done. Best not to comment on stories that you don’t have all the info about.

[Pennywell_Bay]

AC is just doing their job. There have been many cases of AC not being looped in until it was too late, they are Damned if they do or damned if they don’t. lady should not have gone into your pasture, but its hard to fault AC.

[Casey09]

[QUOTE=js;7035519]
It would have been nice had the AC officer called the lady who filed the complaint back and told her that her call was unwarranted and that her trespassing was against the law and was reported to the farm owner. Would also be nice if AC or police could fine and individual say $50 for unwarranted calls etc. Perhaps that would stop nosy neighbors or people driving by from making harassing calls etc.[/QUOTE]

I think that there is a huge difference between a person who calls AC to get back at someone as opposed to a person who calls because he or she is concerned, even if everything turns out to be okay.
Sometimes people truly do not understand something, and then think that something is abuse or neglect when it is not. Some situations might look like abuse or neglect, but not actually be when further investigated. There are lots of reasons why a concerned citizen might call AC with an honest concern that does not turn out to be abuse or neglect. Of course all of that is very different from a person who is calling AC not because concern about abuse or neglect but simply for other vindictive purposes. That is wrong an a waste of AC’s time, but AC is there for people to contact if they are concerned that there could be a problem. It is AC’s job to look things over and determine whether or not there is a problem.
It is ideal in a lot of cases to go talk to people and find out what the story is. However, there are times when it isn’t practical. I have neighbors that I would feel comfortable talking to about a concern, and then others that I would not approach. There are times when it works out very well, but it isn’t always a safe thing to recommend. Trespassing is obviously against the law and probably not even that safe to be doing, but an honest call to AC shouldn’t be punished.