[Caterina]

I have been thinking about this alot lately.... maybe toooooo much.... but I cant seem to help it...

My old best friend straved her horses, as a result three died.
To this day she thinks she did nothing wrong, that in fact the horse world and the SPCA were out to get her. (The SPCA worked with her for like 6 months, visitng almost everyday, trying to get her feed her horses...).

In these situations, we always blame the owner, but in so many cases the owner doesnt give a rats behind. So where does it get us? It almost seem to get us no where...

It just seems that SOMEONE has be blamed and accept the responsibility.
Someone has to be kept awake at night, someone has to feel for these horses... and what happened to them --- whats going to happen to them....

I know in the situation Im talking about, I blame myself... and I know I am not the only one that blames themselves for this happening...

I know for me, I blame myself for not taking Fyre, when I was given the chance. If I had, for one Noah would never have been born, therefor he never had been starved and then attacked and then died. If I took Fyre, he would still be alive as his organs wouldnt have failed from prolonged stravation.
If I had taken Fyre, everything would have been different. Casper never would have been bought, and then wouldnt have had to die all alone out in that feild too skinny to get up.
Jewel never would have been a bone rack...
.*Her* buying that one horse, set forth a chain of events that lead us all to **** and back.
Things would have been so different if I had just taken that old black stallion.
Changing just one thing, could have changed the world in this case.
Just one simple choice, could have these horses....

So I cant help but to blame myself....

I know playing the *shoulda, woulda, coulda* game isnt usually the best thing to do...
But someone has to care, and feel... right?

[yertle]

Unfortunately there is nothing you can do in that circumstance other than what you have done.

It's sad that she didn't listen or didn't believe what was being said and she didn't take the advice/information on board.

You can't play the 'what if' game because even if you had done the 'what if's' it doesn't mean that the outcome would be any different. I do know what you mean though, I do it myself quite often.

By thinking about them it shows you do care and i'm sure Jewel is greatful of that fact and even Fyre and Casper knew that someone cared, that someone tried to change their life.

((hugs))

[Stormyheart6160]

Originally Posted by yertle

Unfortunately there is nothing you can do in that circumstance other than what you have done.

It's sad that she didn't listen or didn't believe what was being said and she didn't take the advice/information on board.

You can't play the 'what if' game because even if you had done the 'what if's' it doesn't mean that the outcome would be any different. I do know what you mean though, I do it myself quite often.

By thinking about them it shows you do care and i'm sure Jewel is greatful of that fact and even Fyre and Casper knew that someone cared, that someone tried to change their life.

((hugs))

Agreed! The "what if" game is something we can all relate to........we've all been faced with the "if I only would of....."

You can't beat yourself up for what someone else did. The guilt and responsibility lays on the person who did it!

[Caterina]

Originally Posted by stormyheart6160

Agreed! The "what if" game is something we can all relate to........we've all been faced with the "if I only would of....."

You can't beat yourself up for what someone else did. The guilt and responsibility lays on the person who did it!

The thing is, she isnt feeling guitly or taking responsibility....

So shouldnt someone one?

Doesnt someone have to pay?

[paintedquarters]

Hindsight is something that affects us all from time to time. To know how other people are going to react is very difficult indeed.
If you were helping her to figure it out and did your best than that is all you could do at that time. The proper authorities were involved and they had the power to take the horses out of that situation.
If you had known that it would have led to their death you would have taken the horses.
You cannot beat yourself up over not doing something that had a bad ending.
Know that your friend is responsible for the outcome not you.

[Beeks]

I think you are being too hard on yourself. If the SPCA was involved for six months, then I think, outside where the obvious blame lies, which is on the owner, they need to shoulder the burden as well. They are funded by our tax dollars and donations for the sole purpose of defending and protecting animals. They failed miserably in this instance. Going out everday to see if they are fed and realizing time and time again, they were not, gave them every right to sieze the animals before they were to far gone to rehabilitate.

My heart hurts for you, but had you done, what you are now wishing you had, it most likely would have just been a different group of animals that perished. As she would have replaced Frye with another one or maybe even two.

Why didn't the SPCA step in and seize the horses anyway?

[Caterina]

Originally Posted by Beeks

I think you are being too hard on yourself. If the SPCA was involved for six months, then I think, outside where the obvious blame lies, which is on the owner, they need to shoulder the burden as well. They are funded by our tax dollars and donations for the sole purpose of defending and protecting animals. They failed miserably in this instance. Going out everday to see if they are fed and realizing time and time again, they were not, gave them every right to sieze the animals before they were to far gone to rehabilitate.

My heart hurts for you, but had you done, what you are now wishing you had, it most likely would have just been a different group of animals that perished. As she would have replaced Frye with another one or maybe even two.

Why didn't the SPCA step in and seize the horses anyway?

Two of the deaths accured before the SPCA became involved, the 3rd Fyre was humanly put to sleep after the SPCA seized the him and the rest of the horses. He had too much organ damage from being starved to recover. They tried for many many months to make him healthy, happy and fat... his body was just too far gone.

[Beeks]

I'm so sorry Caterina....your last post just made me sick to my stomach and put a lump in my throat. Some may think me harsh, but I do not feel nearly the compassion or heartbreak at human starvation as I do animal starvation. The human race has created their own circumstances.

Animals in our care are soley dependent on us. Their pain comes at our hands. Their ability to forgive is in most cases, undeserved. The thought of those poor horses starved to the point of death sickens me to the core. Taking them to a feedlot, would have been more humane than that.

Punishment for those who can watch this happen to their animals is not nearly cruel enough. It is a lucky thing indeed, that they live in a "civilized" world, for the punishment I have in MY head would insure that neglect of this sort, would NEVER happen again from the same person.

[Caterina]

Today I feel like remembering...

[Eeyore95_99]

Like everyone else has said, the if only game is not where you need to be right now. You did what you could and the outcome would most likely not have been any different. It's also very hard not to get caught up in "Someone needs to be paying for this". You can't own this one. It's awful that this happens, but on the lighter side, I think we all have had some sense of those feelings and can relate to what you're feeling right now.