Clark County Animal Control officers come across a fair amount of lost dogs. But lost horses? That doesn’t happen every day.
And a lost horse that nobody claims? Animal control officer Trish Kraff can’t recall that ever happening in the 12 years she’s been on the job.
“We don’t have many stray horses,” she said.
But last month, Clark County Animal Control received a call about a loose Welsh pony in the Proebstel area. A resident was able to catch the white pony at about 8 a.m. Feb. 11 near Northeast Fourth Plain Boulevard and 65th Street. Animal control sent out a team to retrieve the horse the next day.
Since then, animal control officers have been trying — without luck — to find the pony’s owner. And now the county has started the required process to put the pony up for adoption.
“No one has come forward so far, and I doubt anyone will come forward,” Kraff said. “We’re just at the point now that we need to re-home the horse.”
Animal control posted a legal ad about the lost pony in The Columbian. The owner has 10 days to respond; otherwise, the county has the legal authority to make other arrangements for the horse, Kraff said.
Should the owner of the pony come forward, he or she will be responsible for impound fees and must show that the horse enclosure is secure and safe, Kraff said.
The pony appears in good health and was at an OK weight when found. But, based on its physical appearance, Kraff suspects the horse may have an autoimmune disease, possibly Cushing’s disease, which is treatable, she said.
Animal control officers have no way of knowing how the pony got loose. The owner may be deceased or out of town, or the owner may have thought they lost the pony to a cougar or bobcat, Kraff said. It’s also possible the owner abandoned the horse, she said.
“Sometimes, if it wanders off and people didn’t want it in the first place, people don’t look too hard when it’s gone,” Kraff said.
Typically, when horses get loose, they are reunited with the owners within three or four days, Kraff said.
For the last several weeks, the pony has been fostered by volunteers. But someone has expressed interest in adopting the pony if the owner doesn’t come forward, Kraff said.
“It’s doing really well in foster right now, and they’re anxious to get it out of there and into a new forever home,” she said.
