Driving from her home in Gansevoort through Fort Edward to a friend’s house last Christmas, she spotted horses in a Patterson Road farm field that looked to be in bad shape. When she slowed and looked more closely, they had no water and their troughs were frozen, she said.
She called the town and was directed to an animal control officer who visited and had concerns as well, and calls were funneled to the SPCA of Upstate New York. An investigator from the SPCA visited the farm Jan. 9 and pledged to supervise the owner to make sure the horses were properly cared for.
Derush passed by frequently through January, and it seemed there was an effort to make sure the people who were caring for the horses, the Cook family, were keeping them fed and watered.
That changed eight months later, according to Derush.
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| A horse named Bomd, which is short for Born on Mother’s Day, is seen before and after photos taken at a Patterson Road farm in Fort Edward. A woman and her son were charged with animal cruelty in the case. |
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| This is the same horse after rescue |
“I went by again in September, and I was just like, ‘Whoa,’ ” she said. “I was horrified by what I saw. The horses had lost even more weight than when I saw them last.”
Another equine advocate who saw the horses shortly thereafter agreed.
“When I saw these horses at Tammy Cook’s, I absolutely cried,” said Corinth resident Jo Brennan, who along with Derush helped some of the horses after they left Cook’s farm. “People have watched these beautiful horses waste away into nothing.”
One injured horse was laying in mud, and at least four others were very skinny to the point their ribs showed, Derush said. After a veterinarian was brought in, the injured horse had to be euthanized.
State Police investigated, and the two people who were supposed to be minding the horses, Tamara L. Cook (aka Tammy Cook, Tamara Cook), 47, and her son, Cody A. Cook (aka Cody Cook), 21, were charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty.
The charges are still pending, and Tamara Cook said Thursday the charge pertained to one horse, and the other horses were properly cared for. She said she sold horses that left the farm when more concerns were raised in September, and none were taken from her.
Derush and several other area horse welfare advocates said the Patterson Road situation was the latest in a string of cases where they believe the SPCA of Upstate New York has fallen down on the job of watching out for animals in the region.
The agency investigates animal cruelty and neglect allegations in addition to running a shelter in Kingsbury.
Its executive director, Cathy Cloutier, disagreed, and said the critics don’t understand the legalities of what the SPCA is entitled to do when investigating cases at farms, and what thresholds are needed to show farm animals are neglected.
The SPCA also does not have a facility or the funds to care for horses, so it relies on monitoring programs to try to work with owners when neglect is reported. That includes visits to farms and supervision of feeding and watering, which she said was done at the Cook farm.
“We have every visit documented,” she said.
A veterinarian was brought in and consulted during the investigation, she pointed out.
That vet, Dr. Ben Anderson, said only one horse, for which the Cooks were charged, had gotten to the point where a prosecution was warranted, and the others he saw were in “pretty decent shape” and had food and water when he visited.
“I can only speak for that snapshot in time when I was there,” Anderson said. “I was of the understanding that the SPCA was visiting there with some regularity.”
‘Seized on premises’
When animal cruelty cases that involve large animals or livestock occur, there are few options available for police, prosecutors and animal welfare groups like the SPCA of Upstate New York.
So horses at the center of these cases are typically left with the owners or at the farm where they were found, but are cared for under the direction of the SPCA or other local animal welfare organization, a practice known as “seized on premises.”
“If there is grounds for it, we can get an order to seize on premises and we go check every day or every other day,” Cloutier said.
Derush, who owns three horses, said that seemed to work for a month or so after she reported the condition of the horses on Patterson Road, so she stopped going by the farm. But when she began watching again in late September, it was clear the horses were not being fed. She said she did not see hay or other food for them over a period of nearly two weeks.
Cook pointed out she was charged with neglecting just one of the 13 horses that were on her property, and she said that horse received proper food and water. The one that was put down had recently been injured by another horse.
She said she sold seven horses after the charges were filed in the fall. Four that appeared healthy were in a pasture next to her mobile home as she spoke with a reporter.
She said the complaints against her stemmed from a dispute with a male acquaintance, about which she would not elaborate.
“These people keep calling. You can see, there is nothing wrong with those horses,” she said.
Cook said Margaret Nims from the SPCA comes by the farm occasionally, though she couldn’t estimate how frequently.
Derush, though, said the horses’ conditions belied the monitoring claims.
“I feel the SPCA has to answer for this, as does Tamara Cook,” Derush said.
Cloutier also said those who were critical of the care provided do not know the standards that those who are caring for the animals are required to meet. What some owners think is proper feeding may not be what welfare organizations are required to do, she said.
Dr. Anderson said their are protocols to follow and legal thresholds that have to be met before authorities can intervene.
“It’s incredibly frustrating to me that the law seems to be reactionary instead of preventive,” he said. “We are kind of handcuffed at times.”
Washington County District Attorney Tony Jordan said his office only knew of the SPCA’s actions when the criminal charges against the Cooks were filed, and did not know what efforts occurred before arrests were made.
He said the SPCA of Upstate New York has a good track record in animal abuse and neglect cases, however. And often times, what the public thinks is neglect in agricultural settings isn’t neglect, Jordan said.
“Very often what people perceive is neglect is not,” he said.
Other cases
Derush is passionate when she discusses horses and the apparent neglect she has seen. She was in near tears as she showed a reporter pictures of a horse from the Patterson Road farm that appears abnormally skinny with ribs and hip bones protruding, compared to a picture of it when it was much stockier.
She said the most frustrating part of the situation was that the SPCA eventually ignored her calls, many of them made from Patterson Road while staring at the ribs of skinny horses.
And when talking to other equine advocates who had been involved in similar situations, she heard similar anecdotes.
Sue Sheppard of Moreau said she ran into similar issues with SPCA efforts during another horse neglect case that led to three animal cruelty arrests in Fort Edward in 2012.
She said the SPCA initially got involved. But when she saw indications the horses weren’t being properly cared for, the agency stopped responding to her calls and she contacted Washington County Sheriff’s Office, which filed charges, Sheppard said.
“I kept calling about it, but they ignored me after a while,” Sheppard said. “I don’t think they are doing their job.”
Brennan, a Corinth resident, said she helped the horses that were at Cook’s farm as well as monitored the investigation of horse neglect against Greenfield resident Ann Arnold, which led to misdemeanor convictions for Arnold.
Brennan said she believed the SPCA did not heed her concerns about the conditions of the horses in Greenfield either, and neglect went on there for years before something was done about it.
While the SPCA said there aren’t enough resources available for horse cases, Derush and Brennan said there are plenty of horse lovers, as well as at least two horse rescue groups, in the region who would offer help if asked.
Anderson said he keeps a list of rescue groups and people who want to help horses in need.
Cloutier, though, reiterated that her agency can only do what the law allows and works with a limited staff and budget. It involves other agencies and advocate organizations whenever possible, she said.
The SPCA spent $6,000 on care for horses in one Saratoga County horse neglect case that it has not recouped, she said.
If someone suspects abuse or neglect, police can get the quickest results, Cloutier said.
“We tell people the law is we may act, but police must act,” she said.
(Glens Falls Post-Star - Nov 23, 2014)
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