December 2008 message from the president
Here we are at the end of another year. This year had multiple impounds and at least one interesting animal chase by yours truly when called by the Yelm police department to help capture a
couple cows that got loose within the city limits of Yelm. It was an interesting evening as there were three police cars and about 6 men chasing one of the cows. The other was a piece of cake
to load as it was trapped in a small area of a backyard and we could just drive it into the trailer. I joked with some of our members afterward that it seemed like a keystone cops episode but I
guess the officers involved weren't amused as the holder of the cows was fined $200 for loose livestock. I personally would have never guessed the cows would have gotten out of the area where
they were fenced but they just went right through the fencing.
The other cases were not nearly as fun, what with animals in the 1 to 3 range on Heneke scale. We still have 12 to 14 horses available for adoption, some from an impound 2 years ago. The costs
of feed have risen significantly so we scramble to find the best buys for hay. This also makes it more difficult to adopt the horses as people are finding the same cost factors as we are and are less
willing to take the pasture mates and unrideable horses.
We started a new program this year called "End of the Trail" where we can help Thurston County residents whose animals should be euthanized due to poor health, old age and other conditions but who
can't afford the full cost of euthanization and disposal. While we haven't used it very often it helps prevent animals being neglected and dying slow and painful deaths.
The Thurston County Sheriff's Office has developed an Animal Cruelty Team (ACT) who are being trained to be able to identify cases of neglect and abuse and will provide specialized assistance
to deputies who are responding to reports of neglect and abuse. Our members have provided training in identifying neglect and body scoring of hoofed animals. We applaud the Sheriff's Office
for having this program. It will, no doubt, help with screening reports that come in and give better evidence collection when there are cases where owners or caretakers are being charged.
We continue to support the prosecuting attorney's office when they are prosecuting cases, sometimes as witnesses at trial, developing the history of an animal's life and how it got to it's present
condition and sometimes just as showing up in our blue shirts as a show of support for the animals.
We held a successful fund tack sale fund raiser this fall at the Trails and a special thank you to everyone who donated their time and also to those who purchased for making this the success it was.
The election of officers this fall saw many of us retaining our positions, myself as president, Lori Champion and Teresa King as shared vice presidents, Kellee Panowicz as secretary and Connie
Patterson as treasurer. My fellow board members and good friends. Thank you all. While it's not an elected position Kathy Bailey is our fund raising chair and continues her good work to get
horses available for adoption advertised.
A special thanks to Dustin Wade our new webmaster and all his hard work to bring our website up to date and more modern.
We are hopeful as we enter the new year that people will be responsible owners and give proper care to their animals.
May you all have a good holiday season and a happy and prosperous New Year.
John Countryman, President
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