Rose Corey’s daughter Kelsey, age 17, with Teddy Bear right after he arrived for rehabbing and before he was bathed. Kelsey has taken Teddy Bear’s abrupt removal very hard, and was devastated after he was taken “before I had time to say good-bye.” Photo by Rose Corey

Claiming that they needed to stable together all fifteen horses rescued recently from a Waller Rd. mud pit, Pierce County Animal Control retrieved a stallion and foal from foster care at Rose Corey's Creekwood Farm and transferred them to a Hope for Horses ranch in Snohomish County.  The stallion has a severe genital infection and is grossly underweight.  The foal has joint and bone deformities, along with the possibility of embedded worms.

"For the legal purposes of the case, we need all fifteen horses together," said Pat McCarthy, Pierce County Auditor, the official administrating the county's Division of Animal Control since January 2006.  McCarthy said all fifteen horses are at one Hope for Horse location. 

Jenny Edwards, Director of Hope for Horses, has said that separating the horses "jeopardizes the case," and that a similar suit in Skagit County was lost recently due to this reason. [Emily Diaz, Skagit County Animal Control Officer, confirmed this statement made by Jenny Edwards of Hope for Horses, to be false.]

However, the transfer has ignited a storm of protests from the local equine community, especially Corey and the many concerned neighbors in the Summit-Waller Homeowners Association who had been calling authorities for years to relieve the misery of these animals.

"I am very, very angry at what happened to these two horses," said Corey.  "We took care of these horses around-the-clock for nearly three weeks, and to have them removed the way they were, it's heartbreaking."

Corey was the first horsewoman to pull these horses out of their squalor.  On the day of New Year's Eve, she was summoned by Dr. Jack Gillette, a horse veterinarian hired by the county to inspect the stallion that the Summit-Waller neighbors had been calling about "five to ten times a day," according to Animal Control officials.  Gillette ordered the immediate removal of the stallion, along with the foal, and Corey retrieved them that day, Dec. 31.  Other vets ordered the removal of the remaining thirteen horses later that week, and Hope for Horses conducted that second rescue.
[CORRECTION: Dr. Gillette did not summon Ms. Corey. Although he was not her regular veterinarian, he was familiar with her, and the exemplary reputation of her farm, so he provide Ms. Corey's phone number to Animal Control, who then contacted Ms. Corey.]

However, on Saturday, January 19, Animal Control informed Corey that they were coming in four hours to retrieve the two horses.  She protested, claiming the road trip to Snohomish was contra-indicated medically, and stated that Drs. Gillette and Linda Hagerman, the vet who had provided care at Creekwood, both had indicated to her that the horses should not be moved.

Nevertheless, Animal Control appeared that afternoon, and Corey challenged them.  Three Pierce County Sheriff's Deputies then arrived, and Animal Control officer Brian Bowman allegedly threatened Corey with arrest if she refused to allow them access to the horses.

"What happened with the two horses was unfortunate," said Pat McCarthy.  "We had some Good Samaritans step up, but we ended up with a difficult situation.  That's why we need better rules."

McCarthy and her office have said for some time that they need more precise regulations from the County Council on what constitutes adequate shelter and feeding of horses and other animals, and what actions they can take when those conditions are not met.