According to Nina Margetson, executive director of Horse Haven of Tennessee, Pugsley was loaded and taken to the center for continued treatment of malnourishment and other health issues.
“He was up all day as of yesterday,” Margetson said. “They are making sure he is getting up on his own. He’s on IV fluids and they did give him a bath, and we hope that will make him feel a little better.”
Margetson said Sunday that Pugsley had “lost the will to live,” but he has since undergone a complete turnaround. If he continues to show improvement, he could possibly be returned to Horse Haven by the end of the week.
“It didn’t look good at first, but he got that will he needed and rallied back around. I think he just likes the air conditioning at UT,” Margetson said with a laugh.
Pugsley’s owner, James Crafton Ford Jr., 46, Gravelly Hills Road, Louisville, was charged last week with animal cruelty after investigators with the Blount County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BCSPCA) visited Ford’s residence and seized all the horses. He was released on $1,000 bond pending a 1:30 p.m. hearing today in Blount County General Sessions Court.
BCSPCA animal cruelty investigator Kellie Bachman said it was the third time in as many years investigators have been to the property. She said the horses had no grass to feed on and were terribly malnourished.
The American Paint Horses were taken to the University of Tennessee Veterinary Medical Center and have since been released into the care of Horse Haven.
(Blount County Daily Times - July 16, 2013)
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