Volunteers free horses trapped by snow on B.C. mountain

[MrsCat 6]

A two part news story out of Canada:

Volunteers free horses trapped by snow on B.C. mountain

Last Updated: Wednesday, December 24, 2008:

The saga of two starving horses who inspired an entire community was drawing to a successful close after volunteers finally got the animals out of their snow-bound prison late Tuesday night.

"They came out of their kilometre-long trench and they're either sitting in the bush overnight or they're trying to bring them out a little ways and then they'll park them for the night," explained Lana Jeck, matriarch of the family that found the animals on the side of Mount Renshaw a week ago.

Every day since then, a growing number of locals have been trudging up the mountain with shovels in hand to dig out a pathway of escape through two-metre-deep snow for the horses, who are believed to have been abandoned by an Alberta hunter.

"If things go according to plan, they should be out [Wednesday]," said Lana. "It will have been a week of lots of people and their good hearts and strong backs, moving snow."

Horses found during hunt for snowmobiles

It all started when Logan Jeck, 21, and a friend stumbled across the horses while out looking for some snowmobiles that some tourists had to leave behind when they got stuck during a trip to the backcountry.

At first, the young men thought the most humane thing to do would be to take their guns and shoot the emaciated horses to put them out of their misery.

But Lana and her husband, Dave, insisted their daughter Toni, 22, go along to check out the animals as she had some equine expertise.

"My daughter looked in their eyes, and she said they were thin but they had life and energy," said Lana. "They must be fighters, for what they've persevered."

Dave headed up with a shovel the next day, made a shelter, took off the horses' shoes and melted snow for water.

. . . . .

As word of their plight spread, all sorts of people started showing up to help. Soon the horses were being taken hay for feed and blankets for warmth.

"There's a little three-year-old mare, and she's full of piss and vinegar, and there's a 10-to-15-year-old gelding, and he's a nice, big strong horse," said Lana, who describes her family as "country people."

"They're like all our pets — they only want to be fed and loved and they won't tell us a damned thing."

Last Friday, the B.C. SPCA sent up a couple of officers along with a veterinarian to consider whether the animals could be lifted out by helicopter.

"A number of factors were taken into consideration," said chief animal protection officer Shawn Eccles.

"Certainly, cost was one of them. But at the end of the day, the veterinarian examined the animals and determined that their conditions were such that they probably wouldn't survive or it wasn't wise to use a helicopter."

The horses were badly underweight, had frostbite and were missing quite a bit of hair as the result of rain scald. Eccles said on a scale of one to nine, the horses' health rated about a two.

But Lana Jeck said no one gave a thought to giving up on them.

"They have blankets on and they're eating and drinking and doing Mother Nature's stuff," she said. "They whinny and they've got spirit in their eyes."

. . . . .

The SPCA has confirmed they are investigating a particular individual.

"Once our investigation is completed, if the elements of an offence have been met, which by all accounts at this point looks like it has been, charges would be forwarded to Crown," said Eccles.

Though Lana said the hope is for a happy ending on Wednesday, the adventure wasn't over yet.

She noted there was still a 26-kilometre walk to get the horses out to where they can be picked up by officials.

But if things go off without a hitch, there will doubtless be quite a celebration.

"It's a little community. When there's a hand needed, you can always find something to lend a helping hand," said Lana.

"It's got nothing to do with Christmas spirit. These people have good hearts 12 months out of the year."

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/20...rse-rescue.html

Alberta lawyer plans to reclaim rescued horses

Last Updated: Tuesday, December 30, 2008:

The owner of two horses rescued from the remote B.C. mountains says he wants his horses back, but at least one of the rescuers thinks the animals should go to a new home.

The horses, owned by Edmonton lawyer Frank Mackay, were discovered by a snowmobiler near McBride, B.C. in mid-December. A group of community volunteers spent a week digging a trench through the deep snow so the trapped animals could be walked out.

Mackay told CBC News Monday he twice tried to rescue the horses himself since he had left them there in the fall.

During his last attempt in early December, he said he realized the snow was just too deep and he would have to leave the horses there.

"We hauled food into them, poured Gatorade down their throats with a funnel," he said. "I wasn't about to put them down. I was going to let nature take its course, if that's what had to happen."

Although he didn't help with the community rescue, Mackay said he's prepared to reimburse the volunteers for lost wages and money they spent on fuel.

And in January, he said, he's going to go to B.C. to reclaim the two horses, which are currently being cared for at a local farm.

Dave Jeck, one of the McBride residents who spent days on the pre-Christmas rescue effort, said Mackay should not be allowed to have the horses back.

"I would prefer he does not get them back — that they go to some other home to be cared for," Jeck said.

"He never attempted to contact anybody in the rescue crew or come out himself and lend a hand, or send some friends of his to lend a hand. He seemed too distant from the whole thing to me."

Although the case is under investigation by the B.C. SPCA, Jeck said he doesn't think charges are warranted.

Mackay did try to rescue the horses earlier, but the attempt was scuttled by his "inexperience," Jeck said.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/20...rse-rescue.html

[Sister Fracas 5]

I hope he doesn't get the horses back....

[MrsCat 6]

I hope he doesn't get the horses back....

Me neither, I hope someone is smart enough to make the legal argument that they are no longer his property as he abandoned his goods. Someone should leave him to rot on a mountain.

[HAL 9000 96]

Is there a finders' keepers legal precedent up there?

[MrsCat 6]

Is there a finders' keepers legal precedent up there?

Not sure about BC, but in Alberta there is. If you can show that the person abandoned their property. Which I think is clear in this case with his "let nature take its course" attitude.

I can't believe their not going to charge him with cruelty. If you're going to abandon your animal in the wilderness, you man up and put a bullet through its head. Or you get help and try to rescue them until your dying breath. I really don't understand the leave it to god attitude.

[Jasman0717 9]

Gotta love attorneys

[SpiritAlight 1]

I looked at the Vancouver Sun on-line a few days ago and saw this story.

The horses looked frightened and skinny in the photo.

Tragic.

And yesterday's news a whole bunch of guys snowmobiling somewhere in rural BC got caught in an avalanche and the search was on.

sigh...

[Ban Hammer 14,300]

I hope he doesn't get the horses back....

ditto. if he had any concern about them he'd have found them before anyone else did.

[HAL 9000 96]

I hope he doesn't get the horses back....

ditto. if he had any concern about them he'd have found them before anyone else did.

Or not gotten rid of them in the first place.

If he wanted to release them to nature, he could have picked a place that could sustain a horse population. Period.

[Sister Fracas 5]

I hope he doesn't get the horses back....

ditto. if he had any concern about them he'd have found them before anyone else did.

Or not gotten rid of them in the first place.

If he wanted to release them to nature, he could have picked a place that could sustain a horse population. Period.

he's a major chop!

[HAL 9000 96]

I hope he doesn't get the horses back....

ditto. if he had any concern about them he'd have found them before anyone else did.

Or not gotten rid of them in the first place.

If he wanted to release them to nature, he could have picked a place that could sustain a horse population. Period.

he's a major chop!

I wonder if he could survive the elements as well as those horses.

[MrsCat 6]

I hope he doesn't get the horses back....

ditto. if he had any concern about them he'd have found them before anyone else did.

Or not gotten rid of them in the first place.

If he wanted to release them to nature, he could have picked a place that could sustain a horse population. Period.

he's a major chop!

I wonder if he could survive the elements as well as those horses.

he's a lawyer, he probably doesn't remember to breathe unless his secretary reminds him to.

[HAL 9000 96]

I hope he doesn't get the horses back....

ditto. if he had any concern about them he'd have found them before anyone else did.

Or not gotten rid of them in the first place.

If he wanted to release them to nature, he could have picked a place that could sustain a horse population. Period.

he's a major chop!

I wonder if he could survive the elements as well as those horses.

he's a lawyer, he probably doesn't remember to breathe unless his secretary reminds him to.

But perhaps he's a bottom feeder. Bear Grylls must do a show for scum like these.

[MrsCat 6]

I hope he doesn't get the horses back....

ditto. if he had any concern about them he'd have found them before anyone else did.

Or not gotten rid of them in the first place.

If he wanted to release them to nature, he could have picked a place that could sustain a horse population. Period.

he's a major chop!

I wonder if he could survive the elements as well as those horses.

he's a lawyer, he probably doesn't remember to breathe unless his secretary reminds him to.

But perhaps he's a bottom feeder. Bear Grylls must do a show for scum like these.

I just sent him an email to his law firm and stated what a disgrace he is to his profession and best wishes for New Year with as few clients as possible. And yes, Bear should do a show for scum like him.

[HAL 9000 96]

Email signed... MrsCat

AWESOME!