The Houston SPCA and Harris County Constable Precinct 1 teamed up to save eight severely malnourished and injured horses from a Sunnyside field. On Thursday, these teams stepped in to quite literally save the day for this ragtag band of equines, each one in dire need of help and care.
The rescue operation took place on a property along Scott Street, a plot all too familiar with neglect, strewn with large debris and marked by the discovery of multiple skeletal remains of other horses. According to a Houston Chronicle report, the scene featured "dilapidated" stalls laden with feces. Authorities executed a warrant, enabling the rescue of the animals and their transport to the Houston SPCA’s Equine Rehabilitation Center.
Once at the rehabilitation center, the horses began to receive the direly needed medical attention for their untreated wounds.“The teams spent the early afternoon loading and transporting the horses back to the Houston SPCA’s Equine Rehabilitation Center where a staff veterinarian provided individualized treatment, an animal cruelty investigator conducted cruelty exams and equine staff started the rescues on a re-feeding program,” said Houston SPCA officials in a statement acquired by the Houston Chronicle.
Injuries like severe eye trauma, open wounds, and arthritis were part of the slew of medical issues facing the horses. Julie Kuenstle, Houston SPCA vice president of communications, informed ABC13, "They had severe eye injury... open wounds... arthritis... there was a whole slew of things they were suffering in addition to starvation and then also finding at the scene multiple skeletal remains of other horses,"
Amid the ongoing probe, a judge is expected to decide on whether to grant full custody of the animals to the SPCA next week. Kuenstle told ABC13, "We don't know what would have happened come Monday if they're in the condition that they're in," Concerned Houstonians who observe animal cruelty are urged to report it immediately by calling 713-869-7722 or visiting www.houstonspca.org.
