Moving Forward

Eighteen neglected and malnourished horses that were being cared for at the St. Landry Animal Shelter are on their way to a chance at a better life, thanks to a collaboration between the shelter and the Mississippi Horses rescue group.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” said shelter director Stacy Alleman. She said it is the first time in Louisiana history that something like this has happened.

“This is a real success story,” according to Parish President Bill Fontenot. “A lot of horses that would have died are going to be brought to places where people will love them, feed them, use them for riding horses for themselves and their children.”

Members of Mississippi Horses, a nonprofit organization that is a member of the Homes for Horses Coalition, an organization sponsored by the national Humane Society, came to St. Landry Parish on May 7, with “trailers, hay, and volunteers” to stage what Fontenot called “an effective and energetic rescue.”

“The hardest part about rescuing horses is finding them good homes,” Mississippi Horses founder Stephanie Billingsley said. “In most states, including Mississippi and Louisiana, it’s state law to send horses to an auction to reimburse the county, but kill buyers buy them. You’re rescuing a horse to send them to a worse fate. It doesn’t make sense, so that’s why we stepped in to try to help.”

Mississippi Horses has two locations where they animals can be kept until they are rehabilitated and placed with new owners.

Alleman said rescued horses can’t stay at the St. Landry shelter long because of a lack of land and fencing to house them, as well as parish and state laws requiring that they be sent to auction.

“Even if we release them back into the parish, they come right back,” Alleman said. “I think a lot of it has do with the people in this parish. A lot of them are struggling as it is. They want a horse, but when they fall on hard times, it is hard to know what to do. They don’t want to take them to the sale barn. They know it’s going to be killed. Unfortunately, sometimes the alternative is they release them in some areas, so we pick them up as strays.”

Alleman said the five-person staff at the shelter has done a great job to keep the shelter running and improving.

“We’ve come a long way,” she said. “In 2014, the euthanasia rate here was 96.5 percent. In 2015, the euthanasia rate was 20 percent. That’s a dramatic change. These people work night and day.”

The staff includes an animal control officer, Kenny Simmons, who is in charge of covering the entire parish. Alleman said Kennel Manager, James Garlow takes care of more than 200 dogs and 90 cats on a regular basis.

Angela Garlow and Kayla Hargroder handle all of the paperwork and answer all of the calls associated with the shelter.

“My team has done an awesome job,” Alleman said.