On Thursday, July 6th, IDA-Project Hope Director Doll Stanley received a call from the Panola County Sheriff's Department requesting assistance with several animal cruelty investigations, including the alleged neglect of a quarter horse mare and Shetland pony. Later that day, Doll accompanied one of the Department's deputies to pay the horses and their guardians a house call.

When they arrived, they found the two horses emaciated from malnutrition, languishing on a barren plot of dirt with no pasture to graze on. Both were severely underweight; the mare by at least 250 pounds and the pony by about 150 pounds. There were bales of hay stacked near the paddock, but it was gray with mildew and age. No one was home at the time, so Doll and the deputy obtained a seizure warrant for the animals and returned later.

When they came back for a second visit, several of the family's daughters were at home, but not the oldest, who was the pony's guardian. The young women who spoke to the investigators didn't seem to understand that the horses were starving. She phoned the oldest sister, whose husband had recently acquired the pony for her, and urged her to come over. When the sister arrived and was informed of the situation, she too seemed clueless to the fact that the pony was suffering from severe neglect.

The girls then called their mother, who initially railed against the investigators for upsetting her children and insisted the family was providing adequate care for the animals. Doll and the deputy explained to her that the matter was now an issue for the courts to decide. Doll also promised to work with the oldest daughter because her horse was a foal. She hoped to console the young woman and help her understand that she and her family lacked the knowledge and capability needed to care for an equine.

By the next morning it was settled that the family didn't wish to go to court, so charges won't be filed against the horses' guardians. This granted Doll and the Panola County Sheriff's Department the authority to put the mare and pony up for adoption. Both horses were soon placed with the family of the Vaiden Chief of Police, where they will live with another adopted horse and a precious dog that IDA-Project Hope rescued from a hoarder with 28 others. In their new home, these lucky horses will never again suffer from lack of food or love.

What You Can Do

Learn more about the work of Project Hope.

Read more about previous Project Hope victories

• IDA-Project Hope Rescues Three Emaciated Horses

• IDA-Project Hope Rescues Two Horses with Panola County Sheriff's Dept.

• IDA-PH Gives Desperate Dog New Hope

• Help Project Hope Continue Its Lifesaving Work

• IDA's Project Hope Hurricane Relief Team Takes Animals to Northern Shelters

• IDA's Project Hope Animal Relief Team Remains on the Job

• IDA's Project Hope Hurricane Relief Team in Mississippi

• IDA's Project Hope Animal Rescue Team Among Handful of Groups in New Orleans

• IDA's Project Hope Continues Animal Rescue Work in New Orleans