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6A Daily News – Saturday, August 25, 2012 healthPetsactivities & Once-starving horses get lease on life Steps to reunite lost HUNTINGT ON LAKE (MCT) — Comanche has one pale blue eye, one deep brown and a prancing gait that has cowboy Morgan Austin suspecting this mystery horse once paraded around an arena. Until two weeks ago, Comanche wouldn't let anyone in the saddle. It took Morgan, 17, two months of talking to him "real quiet-like," slipping on a saddle blanket, then the saddle, before he could hoist his own lanky frame onto the brown- and-white quarter horse. Now, on a day when pets with owners If an animal is lost or found, this article hopes to provide enough relevant information to assist in reuniting the pet with its owner. regaining a beloved member of the family. Dogs and cats should be micro chipped and wear identification collars with the pets name and a contact phone number that includes the area code and has a working answering machine or voice mail associated with it. The easier it is for a person who finds a lost animal to make contact, the better the chance of having a pet returned quickly and safely. For lost pets, begin by searching home and property thor- An ounce of prevention can mean all the difference in the sky is pale with heat and ragged breaths of wind kick up thick, sticky dust, Comanche and Morgan lead the way down a boulder-strewn Sierra trail. Clifford Housley, the pack station foreman and head train- er, rides behind, blocking the way should Comanche try to bolt back. Morgan reaches out to snap pine branches with a loud crack and slaps his stirrups against granite, part of training Comanche to be a High Sierra packhorse. broke," Morgan said. "That means bombproof — you could ride that horse through a thunder- storm without him blink- ing." "He has to be dead expected to carry tourists through the wilderness would be raised in the mountains. But these are brutal times in the horse world. Comanche, a flat- lander, is being groomed for this job as a way to save his life. Usually, a horse MCT photo Johnny Benton works with two colts in order to take their temperature. in the country, the num- bers are even harsher. The Central California Society for the Preven- tion of Cruelty to Ani- mals went from rescuing a few horses a year to taking in 60 abandoned horses over the last 12 months. Drought and incentives to convert crops to ethanol helped double the price of hay to as much as $20 a bale. It reached a point where even a purebred horse sold for less than the cost of feeding it for a year. People who had col- lected the animals as prized trophies left herds to starve. The number of aban- doned horses has more than doubled nationwide in the last five years, according to rescue groups. But in Califor- nia's Central Valley, where banks foreclosed on homes and ranches at one of the highest rates Comanche was one of 15 horses abandoned on a Sanger, Calif., ranch by a man who had won a $40 million Super Lotto jackpot in 2001. It was one of a string of high- profile mass horse-abuse cases in the Central Val- ley last winter. horse rescue outside Sacramento. At D&F Pack Station, owner Sue Walker is try- ing to pet two young colts adopted at the same time as Comanche. They were rescued from a group of 18 horses found starving and nearly wild at a ranch in Clovis in the valley below. They were probably foaled in the field. "Horses are a luxury item, and the economic crisis turned the horse world upside-down," said Beth DeCaprio, who runs Grace Foundation They push their muz- zles close to Walker but shy away when she reaches to touch them. For some reason, howev- er, they let children pet them. She always sends the kids who are going on trail rides over to their corral. To hear of horses being abandoned was once rare, she said with a shake of her head. "Every once in a while you'd hear about a horse being abused and you'd just want to shoot the person, but it was one or two horses and life went on," she said. "But then it was 30, 60, 100 horses left to starve. And I thought, there's some- thing we can do about it, at least for a few of them, so let's go do it." Walker and her hus- band, Randy, told Hous- ley to grab a saddle and drive with them to Fres- no. They were going to adopt as many horses as they could find jobs for at the station. The SPCA was holding more than 30 horses. Randy Walker knew to you," he said in a vel- vet drawl that may have something to do with his spell over horses. "I was nervous putting a halter on them and trying to guess whether they'd ever been ridden before I got on. "Also, it's like going to the pound. You save the one dog, but you have to see all the ones you leave behind." Many of the horses Housley, 22, was the right man to do the choosing. "Clifford can spend 20 minutes with a horse and before even riding it tell you everything about it," he said. "It's the cra- ziest thing. I've seen him just put his head on their head like they're com- muning." Housley wasn't crazy about the responsibility. "I'm not going to lie oughly. Ask immediate neighbors to check in sheds, garages, under porches, etc. Think about the places a pet would likely go to find company, comfort and/or food, then search those possibilities. Create a lost pet flyer. Include a clear pet photo, the pet's name, breed, sex, color, age, weight, any distinguishing fea- tures, and at what location and town when he/she was last seen. Be sure to include a contact phone number with area code and/or an email address. Create enough copies of the flyer to post in parks, pet stores, convenience stores, gas sta- tions, restaurants and around schools, anywhere large groups of people frequent. If someone's pet is found and the desire is to return it to its rightful owner, create a found pet flyer. Include a descrip- tion of the animal such as size, sex, color, any distinguish- ing features. In addition, include the location and town where the pet was found. Any information provided will be extremely helpful. Also, include a contact phone number with area code and/or email address. If there is online access, send emails to friends, col- leagues and family members, and ask them to pass on all the information documented. Visit every shelter in the surrounding area. Act immedi- ately, bring flyers to post and go to each shelter often to check their most recent intakes. • Tehama County Animal Care Center 530 -527-3439, 1830 Walnut St, Red Bluff Walker St., Orland) If a stray dog is found In the city limits of Red Bluff, call the Red Bluff Police Department at 530-527-3131. • Corning Animal Shelter/Second Chance Pet Rescue 530-824-7054, 4312 Rawson Road, Corning Contact the local Veterinary Clinics and inquire whether an injured animal matching the pet's description came in. In addition, ask if posting of flyers is accepted. • Antelope Veterinary Hospital (530) 527-4522 (85 Belle Mill Road, Red Bluff) • Corning Veterinary Clinic (530) 824-2966 (2023 Solano St., Corning) • Cottonwood Veterinary Clinic (530) 347-3711 (3917 N. Main, Cottonwood) • Mill Creek Veterinary Hospital (530) 384-1700 (8202 State Highway 99E, Los Molinos) • Red Bluff Veterinary Clinic (530) 527-1886 (445 Luther Road, Red Bluff) • Valley Veterinary Clinic (530) 527-5259 (420 Ante- lope Blvd., Red Bluff) • Walker Street Veterinary Clinic (530) 865-3630 (512 had suffered too much muscle damage to be suitable for trail work. Comanche was stronger because he'd been the friendliest, and neigh- bors couldn't resist giv- ing him apples. "You know that part bothered me more than all the rest," Sue Walker said. "The thought that some- one could pet and feed one horse and watch the others dying." Housley gave the nod to the two younger ones because they seemed to desperately want contact, although fear held them back. In the city limits of Corning call the Corning Police Department at 530-824-7000. Anywhere in Tehama County other than the above two cities call the Tehama County Sheriff's Office at 530-529- 7900 ext. 1. The Tehama County Animal Care Center will accept stray cats for a requested impounded fee. The Care Center has limited space, therefore, there is a waiting list bring them in. To be added to the waiting list or to ask further questions about turning the cat in, call the Tehama County Animal Care Center at 530-527-3439. Use the Internet. It is a powerful tool. Contact any media lost and found websites or bulletin boards such as: Petfinder.com Emergency Pet Locator Fido Finder, Lost Dog Database Pet Harbor Lost and Found Craigslist Facebook pages: Tehama County Animal Care Center P.E.T.S. Lost & Found Pets...Northern California Pets N Need local newspapers. As difficult and heartbreaking as searching for a lost pet can be the most important thing to remember is do not lose hope or give up. Many pets, months or even years after they were lost, have been reunited with their owners. 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