By Al Irwin
Times Reporter
May 20 2005

A pair of hungry and apparently-neglected horses found wandering in Brookswood last week has angered two area residents.
Ron Logan, a former Langley City Councillor, and a neighbour, Deirdre Zielinski, are concerned not only about the horses' owner, but the SPCA's handling of the situation.
The two quiet horses were noticed wandering loose near Langley Fundamental Elementary School, near 212 Street and 42 Avenue, as school let out on May 9. A large crowd gathered, and Langley Animal Protection Society was called.
A spokesman for LAPS said that the society has the ability to impound stray animals, but the SPCA has jurisdiction in decisions regarding neglect.
LAPS has no facilities for large animals, and Logan, who has two horses of his own, offered to put up the horses until the situation was resolved.
Zielinski said May 11 she had learned SPCA was turning the horses back over to the owner.
She said the horses had been at large for several days, and were in bad shape. She would prefer a new owner be found for the horses.
Logan showed the horses to The Times at his home. The animals' ribs are quite visible, and the hindquarters appear lacking in muscle mass, compared to Logan's own two horses.
He said the hooves of the strays have also been neglected. From what Logan could learn, the owner was new to horse ownership.
"They are buying a big animal. They should know what they are getting into," Logan said.
"I don't want to nail the guy, if he is that ignorant. But he is saying that he is taking them to a (commercial) stable, and the stable says that's not so," Logan said.
Logan says the horses will require six months of care to return to a healthy condition, and he has offered to keep them, and feed them back to health, until an interested party could be found to adopt them. He said if the owner neglected feed and hoof trimming, the expense of West Nile virus, flu and rhino and tetanus shots, and worm treatment may also have been foregone. With required dental care, medical alone might be $700 on one horse, $400 or $500 on the other.
"But the owner wants them back," Logan said.
And the SPCA had authorized the owner to get them back.
Eileen Drever, a senior animal protection officer with the SPCA, said an officer will visit the owner, and there are a number of things that need to be determined.
If the owner is new, when he bought the horses, and what condition they were in at the time, is an important consideration.
"We will issue an order to the owner to provide the necessary care," Drever said. Drever said the owner's promise to stable the horses commercially would also be looked into.
Response to the care orders will be followed up.
"Failure to comply can result in further legal proceedings," she said.

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