Miami-Dade horse shelter makes urgent plea for help
Rescue ranch struggles to care for 49 neglected, abused horses in facilities designed for 15
By Kelly House, The Miami Herald
1:21 PM EDT, June 21, 2010
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Down a gravel road just past a busy highway, Virikis Sis munches straw on a crowded ranch for rescued horses. She is a shell of her former self, a brown mare owned by a Dubai ruler.
The ranch, tucked away on 15 acres in northwest Miami-Dade County, is quickly running out of room to take in more abused horses like Virikis Sis. Ranch organizers are struggling to find the animals new owners and are falling behind.
"We've squeezed them every which way we can, but we're running out of space," said Jeanette Jordan, president of the South Florida Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which runs the ranch. "We've never turned a horse in need away, and we hope never to have to, but we're reaching the critical mass."
Jordan said the tanking economy has made Floridians reluctant to take on the financial burden of adopting a horse.
That's why the group has sent out a call for help. The organization wants South Floridians to make donations and, possibly, adopt a horse from the rescue ranch.
There is usually a marked increase in horse rescues during the summer, so it is almost certain that more horses will show up, said Laurie Waggoner, the ranch's executive director.
Police found Virikis Sis and three other horses on June 8 roaming loose in a field off a rural stretch of 97th Avenue in Hialeah. A farmer spotted the horses and called police, who identified Virikis Sis by the tattoo on her upper lip.
Regal background
Authorities used the tattoo to track Virikis Sis to Darley, the global breeding operation of Dubai Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum. Darley's U.S. headquarters are at the Jonabell Farm in Lexington, Ky. How a horse with such a regal background ended up wandering, starving, in a remote corner of Miami-Dade County is unknown, but Darley officials said they hope to track down her latest owner to find out.
Darley gave Virikis Sis to Trackside Farms in Williston because she wasn't fast enough to race. Jordan said officials at Trackside have no record of where she went after that.
Jordan said that even if the people responsible for her neglect were found, they would probably face only a fine under Florida's animal-welfare laws, which classify neglect as a misdemeanor.
Virikis Sis' protruding hipbones and xylophone row of ribs tell a story of extreme hunger. She is 200 pounds underweight, has deep abscesses in every hoof and a hole in her left hind leg big enough to fit a fist inside.
"She's sweatin', it's so hot," Jordan said as she ran a brush down the brown mare's nose and through her mane.
The other three horses found with her are not much better off. But under care from Jordan and Waggoner, they are expected to recover — along with the 45 other neglected and abused horses at the ranch.
Steadily climbing
The organization's ranch is the only horse shelter in South Florida. It was originally intended for 15 horses, but now holds 49, plus myriad dogs, chickens, lambs, pigs and even a peacock.
Temporary paddocks have been installed to accommodate the additional horses, and many of them have been put out to pasture.
The ranch rescues about 100 horses a year, and in the past they typically passed quickly into the care of new, responsible owners.
However, since the recession began, fewer people have come forward to adopt the animals, and the number of hoofed guests at the ranch has steadily climbed.
The shelter relies on donations to operate the ranch.
Feed alone costs $10,000 a month, Jordan said.
The ranch charges an adoption fee of about $900, and owners can expect to spend a minimum of $600 per month per horse.
Brenda Fuller, 54, of Miami Lakes, has adopted five horses from the ranch. Her most recent adoptee, Max, is an 18-year-old white Arabian horse rescued about two years ago.
Fuller said adoption should not be considered if a potential owner is not ready to devote a significant amount of time and money to the horse. The inability to care for the horses is what led many of them to be dropped off at the ranch in the first place.
But for those who are able, the animals make great companions, Fuller said.
"It's a commitment. But maybe if you volunteer [at the ranch] and one wins your heart, then you'll make your way to do what you can.''
Despite the shortage of space and money, Jordan says she knows in her heart that she will not turn away the next emaciated horse that shows up at the ranch.
For now, she will nurse Virikis Sis and her companions back to health, caressing and murmuring to them as she roams through their pens.
Copyright © 2010, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Rescue ranch struggles to care for 49 neglected, abused horses in facilities designed for 15
By Kelly House, The Miami Herald
1:21 PM EDT, June 21, 2010
Advertisement
Down a gravel road just past a busy highway, Virikis Sis munches straw on a crowded ranch for rescued horses. She is a shell of her former self, a brown mare owned by a Dubai ruler.
The ranch, tucked away on 15 acres in northwest Miami-Dade County, is quickly running out of room to take in more abused horses like Virikis Sis. Ranch organizers are struggling to find the animals new owners and are falling behind.
"We've squeezed them every which way we can, but we're running out of space," said Jeanette Jordan, president of the South Florida Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which runs the ranch. "We've never turned a horse in need away, and we hope never to have to, but we're reaching the critical mass."
Jordan said the tanking economy has made Floridians reluctant to take on the financial burden of adopting a horse.
That's why the group has sent out a call for help. The organization wants South Floridians to make donations and, possibly, adopt a horse from the rescue ranch.
There is usually a marked increase in horse rescues during the summer, so it is almost certain that more horses will show up, said Laurie Waggoner, the ranch's executive director.
Police found Virikis Sis and three other horses on June 8 roaming loose in a field off a rural stretch of 97th Avenue in Hialeah. A farmer spotted the horses and called police, who identified Virikis Sis by the tattoo on her upper lip.
Regal background
Authorities used the tattoo to track Virikis Sis to Darley, the global breeding operation of Dubai Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum. Darley's U.S. headquarters are at the Jonabell Farm in Lexington, Ky. How a horse with such a regal background ended up wandering, starving, in a remote corner of Miami-Dade County is unknown, but Darley officials said they hope to track down her latest owner to find out.
Darley gave Virikis Sis to Trackside Farms in Williston because she wasn't fast enough to race. Jordan said officials at Trackside have no record of where she went after that.
Jordan said that even if the people responsible for her neglect were found, they would probably face only a fine under Florida's animal-welfare laws, which classify neglect as a misdemeanor.
Virikis Sis' protruding hipbones and xylophone row of ribs tell a story of extreme hunger. She is 200 pounds underweight, has deep abscesses in every hoof and a hole in her left hind leg big enough to fit a fist inside.
"She's sweatin', it's so hot," Jordan said as she ran a brush down the brown mare's nose and through her mane.
The other three horses found with her are not much better off. But under care from Jordan and Waggoner, they are expected to recover — along with the 45 other neglected and abused horses at the ranch.
Steadily climbing
The organization's ranch is the only horse shelter in South Florida. It was originally intended for 15 horses, but now holds 49, plus myriad dogs, chickens, lambs, pigs and even a peacock.
Temporary paddocks have been installed to accommodate the additional horses, and many of them have been put out to pasture.
The ranch rescues about 100 horses a year, and in the past they typically passed quickly into the care of new, responsible owners.
However, since the recession began, fewer people have come forward to adopt the animals, and the number of hoofed guests at the ranch has steadily climbed.
The shelter relies on donations to operate the ranch.
Feed alone costs $10,000 a month, Jordan said.
The ranch charges an adoption fee of about $900, and owners can expect to spend a minimum of $600 per month per horse.
Brenda Fuller, 54, of Miami Lakes, has adopted five horses from the ranch. Her most recent adoptee, Max, is an 18-year-old white Arabian horse rescued about two years ago.
Fuller said adoption should not be considered if a potential owner is not ready to devote a significant amount of time and money to the horse. The inability to care for the horses is what led many of them to be dropped off at the ranch in the first place.
But for those who are able, the animals make great companions, Fuller said.
"It's a commitment. But maybe if you volunteer [at the ranch] and one wins your heart, then you'll make your way to do what you can.''
Despite the shortage of space and money, Jordan says she knows in her heart that she will not turn away the next emaciated horse that shows up at the ranch.
For now, she will nurse Virikis Sis and her companions back to health, caressing and murmuring to them as she roams through their pens.
Copyright © 2010, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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