Abandoned Thoroughbred, Defense Team, rescued by South Florida SPCA

“I would be first in line to pick up this stunning mare, how anyone could just abandon her is beyond my comprehension; there is no & never will be, a good enough excuse for this cruel crime, whilst animal organisation exist to help!. But a former race horse that costs thousands, then doesn’t race well, is more than often sent to slaughter or abandoned! I hope they find whomever she belonged to; then proceed with criminal charges! Then I hope Defense Team gets a forever home & is loved for the rest of her life!!!”

MIAMI, FL (February 17, 2014)

 Defense Team, a Thoroughbred gelding, was rescued today by South Florida SPCA. Laurie Waggoner, SFSPCA director of ranch operations, received  a mid-morning call from a Hialeah farmer who reported the former racehorse wandering along a road near one of his pastures, and that he looked “really bad…really skinny.” Waggoner and members of the Hialeah police department found the horse ambling roadside, eating grass.

If you’d like to donate toward the care of Defense Team, please visit http://www.spca-sofla.org/donate/donate-now and indicate that it is for Defense Team at checkout.

“His body condition score is a 1,” said Waggoner, referring to the lowest score on the Henneke System of Body Condition Scoring (view chart.) Fortunately, Defense Team does not appear to be lame or have any other major issues or injuries. He will receive routine vaccinations and a Coggins test, along with farrier attention to his hooves which appear to have been neglected for some time.

The horse’s tattoo number matched that of Defense Team, and SFSPCA learned he was foaled in Florida on April 6, 1999. He was purchased in Ocala, FL for $6,000, and raced only once at Calder on December 28, 2001 where he finished 11 out of a field of 12. (View pedigree.)

I will never comprehend why humans can throw animals out like trash; or just abandon them….heartbreaking!!!

Waggoner noted Defense Team seemed very happy to be found, loaded easily on her trailer and was welcomed to the SFSPCA ranch in Homestead with a nice, safe stall and a tasty flake of hay.

If you’d like to donate toward the care of Defense Team, please visit www.spca-sofla.org/donate/donate-now and indicate that it is for Defense Team at checkout.

Report horses or other large livestock animals that appear to be abandoned, abused or neglected. Call 911 for emergencies, or 305-4-POLICE (Miami-Dade, FL) for non-emergencies.

News Link:–http://www.spca-sofla.org/abandoned-thoroughbred-defense-team-rescued-by-south-florida-spca/

Man Who Burned His Own Dog Arrested

MIAMI (CBSMiami) — North Miami Police detectives have arrested the man they say is responsible for a painful case of animal cruelty, detectives said Saturday.

Witvil Florvil, 29, is charged with animal cruelty with intent to injure or kill.

Florvil burned his own dog’s back, according to police.

“There was a dog, it was hiding back there by the garbage cans,” a neighbor named Tim said. “It looked really bad. It’s whole back was bloody. I called animal control.”

The boxer-sharpei mix was taken to Miami-Dade Animal Services in mid-July with second- and third-degree burns from head to tail.

When we first met him after he was removed from Florvil’s home, he was scared and in pain.

“The dog is clearly a fighter,” Miami-Dade Animal Services Director Kathleen Labrada said. “These are extremely painful wounds he’s suffering from. He’s a little stand-offish around people. But I would be, too.”

At the time, the dog was nicknamed “Courage”. Neighbors say the dog must have had a lot of it.

“When I initially saw the dog I thought it was probably hurt by running over by a car or something,” Tim said. “I didn’t know that somebody actually did something to it.”

Another neighbor, Ali, wasn’t in town at the time of the burning. But he still expressed his condolences for the animal.

“I feel bad for the dog,” Ali said.

Another person who lives at the home on NW 127 Avenue in North Miami was originally cited, but after what police are calling an extensive investigation, Florvil was arrested.

The dog is now named Bentley and is being cared for by a rescue group out of South Carolina named Noah’s Arks Animal Rescue.

“I feel better for the animal,” Tim said. “When i first saw it I thought they’d put him to sleep. But the fact that somebody came down here and adopted it is great.”

To learn more about Bentley’s care or to donate to Noah’s Arks Animal Rescue, visit http://www.noahs-arks.net/RESCUE/HOME.html.

Video & News Link:–http://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/08/04/man-who-burned-his-own-dog-arrested/