Driving While Drunk and Dragging a Horse
October 7, 2009 by Elizabeth
Filed under Treat Me Right
Dick Francis is one of my very favorite authors. For those of you who don’t know, Mr Francis is a very successful National Hunt jockey-turned-writer of more than forty best-selling novels with plots that revolve around the horse-racing community. In one of his mysteries horses are being mutilated by having their legs hacked off. It was a hard story for me to read at times but it was only a story.
Unfortunately, equine abuse is a serious issue and one that appears to be on the rise. The most frequent problem is malnourishment but then, there are cases like this one:
The horse was in the trailer, tied with a rope around his neck. Driving along the road the trailer door came open. The horse fell out and was dragged along the asphalt road by the neck. Here’s the thing – the driver was rip-roaring drunk. And here’s the result of his liquored-up stupor….
This poor beast has an uncertain future ahead of him. Bouncing on his back, sides and legs as he was dragged has flayed his skin to the muscle and bone. With two broken ribs, three injured legs and dangerous swelling, the horse, named Lucky Chance by his rescuers, may not be so lucky as to survive. Painkillers, antibiotics and IV fluids are helping to fight his critical condition but recovery, assuming he doesn’t suffer kidney failure or other setbacks, will take three to six month.
Deputies found the driver of the vehicle stumbling around and saying he was “looking for his horsey”. He was arrested for driving while intoxicated. The man also had no license at the time of the arrest and it was discovered he is wanted for probation revocation. Humane Society officials want him charged with animal cruelty, which could bring up to five years in jail and a $5000 fine for a felony conviction. The case is still open, so no other charges have been filed as yet and may never be.
In the eyes of the law, horses (and other animals) are simply chattel (belongings). They have no rights, which means their abusers can all too easily get away with terrible cruelty. Societies that have governmental authority to take abused animals from owners are often over-worked and under-budgeted, so only the worst cases have a chance of rescue. And as long as retribution is light or non-existent, there is little to deter the brutality and neglect.
As for Lucky Chance’s abuser, the man may even be feeling remorse for what he did but, a drunk is a drunk and probably nothing will change that. So I hope he at least is charged and convicted at the highest level. And I hope that Lucky lives up to his name.
If you’d like to get involved in horse rescue, search for groups in your area or check these sites:
International Generic Horse Association
“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man”. ~ Winston Churchill
Dick Francis is also one of my favorite writers. I was introduced by a friend who informed me that he is also a favorite of Queen Elizabeth. Can’t beat that for a recommendation for me.
Happy to get the update on Angel and Vincent. My readers and I love you.
My husband and I are the ones who actually found Lucky! We had met the man pulling the traylor earlier that night and he almost ran into us driving wreckless. Later that evening on our way home we were driving and came upon something that look like a wooden palate in the middle of the road. Soon after we passed that we came over a hill and saw a horse standing in the middle of the road. My husband turned his flashers on and moved out of the road. The closer we got to Lucky we realized that he was badly injured. We knew we had to do something but we no cell phone service. We moved lucky out of the road and drove up to next house. we asked the people if we could borrow thier phone to call 911. After we called they helped us catch lucky and walk him back up to thier house. The cops arrived soon after that. I am just thankful that he is still alive.. .I love animals and the seeing lucky so badly hurt really upset me! I hope Lucky is doing well and would really appreciate it if someone would email me and let me know how he is doing or how we could get into touch with the person caring for him now.
Thank you,
Danielle Allgood