We, the undersigned are deeply disturbed by the details surrounding the preventable death of the beleaguered paint horse in Santa Rosa on July 10, 2023 as relayed by Phil Barber of the Press Democrat in two comprehensive front page articles (7/26, 8/4).  Even though Sonoma County Animal Services was well aware through public complaints that the large dog owned by the horse owner was allowed to intimidate, chase, bite and harass the unprotected paint horse daily for hours on end preventing it from getting the necessary rest or grazing time to maintain it's strength, the horse was never removed from this clear animal cruelty situation. The needless suffering and unnecessary cruelty was allowed to continue unabated for almost a year.  It came as no surprise to the frustrated and upset citizens that the weakened horse was ultimately brought down and fatally mauled by the aggressive dog.  It is shocking to animal lovers that even after repeated complaints and witnessing the badgering by the dog, SC Animal Services did not take action and remove the suffering horse.  This is not an isolated incident as other animal cruelty complaints were also not satisfactorily addressed. We are especially concerned that there appears to be a systemic resistance within SC Animal Services to taking decisive effective actions and removing suffering horses from their hazardous situation. The department's position has been to instead state that horses are considered personal property so they can't remove the animal from the abuser. We question that position as California has clear laws in place stating that animal cruelty is a misdemeanor or a felony crime (California Penal Code section 597) and the ongoing torture of the paint horse prior to the fatal attack meets the criteria of needless suffering and unnecessary cruelty.  Why is it that Fresno County can immediately seize eleven horses upon responding to a complaint, while our Animal Services department allowed abuse to continue for almost a year until the horse died?  Instead of allocating the administrative time to process the seizure of the abused paint horse and activate a nonprofit for the transport and care, we end up with a tortured dead horse, a dead dog, a traumatized public, and a potential felony prosecution at the expense of the taxpayer.  This is not acceptable.

We want a thorough and transparent investigation with accountability into the paint horse case, plus some other disturbing complaint cases. We want immediate procedural changes made to insure proper protection of Sonoma County horses going forward, including utilizing non profits already in place to quickly remove and care for these suffering horses, and improved respectful responsiveness to the person making the complaint. In addition, we want citizen involvement to monitor the handling of horse abuse cases to insure the situation is handled with satisfactory urgency and compassion.