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pnalley
02-03-2007, 01:24 AM
First I must say, again I am amazed at how effecient the Georgia Department of Agriculture is.

They always try to 1st educate, 2nd require the owners to meet certain requirements, 3rd impound animals.

Today a convoy of trailers met in our county seat. From there they began moving the 98 horses to a unknown location. It was their intent to have ALL the horses removed by 6:00 pm.

In addition, the Atlanta Humane Society and several others sent truck to pick up the dogs.

The cows & goats were under the authority of our sheriff, and they are now either all sold or will be in the next few days.

I reported a 2nd location with many dogs to the state vets office and some folks in positions of authority, I believe they were removed today also.

I can-not imagine how difficult it was to find a location that was set up to house almost 100 horses, that had no horses. This herd is still quaranteened due to suspected strangles.

The community really pulled together to help these animals. We found we need to be more organized and will work on that at our next meeting.

The state vet has an email list and they send out updates every evening. The department of Ag will be hiring 4 temporary employees to help specifically with this situation.

This has been a horrible situation for these poor animals. The owners have not been charged, yet. They have hired a premier criminal attorney. This attorney stated the horses got sick in a sale barn but otherwise they are ok. Guess that explains the emacited animals that were dead & dying and left unburied.

Hopefully in time these horses will get a good home. I imagine it will be 6 months to a year before they are ready for adoption.

PASOFAN
02-03-2007, 04:56 AM
WOw, sounds like the system has worked so far, I hope all the animals find a better quality of life now...

pnalley
02-04-2007, 11:39 PM
I just got an email from the Department of Agriculture about the horses. I'm going to copy it here. Our Department of Ag is awesome. I also must say, having a vet for a Govorner is good for these animals.

Friends of the Pike County Horses,

The remaining horses from Pike County were impounded last night and the total count is 99. We were fortunate that all of them made the trip safe and sound. Although some continue to have signs of respiratory illness, all are now resting comfortably in individual stalls and are receiving food, water and veterinary attention. A State Agriculture Response Team was activated over the weekend and we must thank the team members from the GA Department of Agriculture, the GA Forestry Commission, the USDA Veterinary Services, and the University of Georgia for their rapid response. We also thank the volunteers from the Georgia Equine Rescue League and the Humane Society of the United States and others who volunteered their time to assist us on short notice.


REQUEST FOR SUPPLIES FOR THE COMING WEEK:
Following is the list of needed supplies for this coming week. You can drop these off at any of the three Horse Town locations (Locust Grove, Marietta, Snellville), or at the TC Supply on Hwy 20 in Canton.
Pyrantel Pamoate wormer (ex - Strongid)
Fenbendazole wormer (ex - Panacur, Safe Guard)
Psyllium powder (not pellets or cumbles) labeled for horses (ex - Sand Blast, Sand Clear)
Digest Aid

REQUEST FOR VOLUNTEERS FOR THE COMING WEEK:
The Department will need volunteers to assist with cleaning stalls and barn chores for the coming week. We need 8 volunteers for the morning shift of 8 am - 12 noon, and 8 volunteers for the afternoon shift of 1 pm - 5 pm. Volunteers for any length of time are appreciated. Volunteers must complete a volunteer application packet with the Personnel Office and be approved by the Georgia Department of Agriculture. For security reasons, no self-deployed volunteer will be allowed on the property.

REQUEST FOR MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS:
Feeding and caring for 99 horses will certainly demand significant costs, and the Georgia Department of Agriculture does not receive state dollars to pay for feed, equipment and supplies. So, monetary donations are greatly appreciated in order to purchase the necessary resources to nurse them back to health.

To send a tax deductible donation to the general Equine Impound Program, please send a check to:
Georgia Department of Agriculture
Office of Equine Health, Room 143
19 MLK Jr., Drive
Atlanta, GA 30334
Place in the memo line "Equine Impound Program"

Many thanks to the Georgia Equine Rescue League who is managing the logistics of feed and hay. This is a huge task! To send a tax deductible donation which may be earmarked for this specific case, send a check to:
Georgia Equine Rescue League
PO Box 787
Locust Grove, GA 30248
Place in the memo line "Pike County Impound"

Attached you will find two newspaper articles from today's papers.

Again, thank you for the outpouring of help for these poor animals. Be looking for a situation report from the Department of Agriculture at approximately 2 pm tomorrow (Monday, February 5). You will find all press releases and situation reports on the Department website at www.agr.georgia.gov under "news and events" on the homepage.

LMM

Lee M. Myers, DVM, MPH, Dipl. ACVPM
State Veterinarian
Assistant Commissioner of Animal Industry
Georgia Department of Agriculture
19 MLK Jr., Drive
Atlanta, GA 30334

Office: 404-656-3671
Fax: 404-657-1357
Cell: 404-895-5658
Email: lmyers@agr.state.ga.us
Web: http://www.agr.georgia.gov