ABUSE: Why it must be punished

Making it a felony for people who kill, starve or neglect their horses is a big issue for me.

On May 10, 2003, my first horse Dancer was stabbed in her side. We had to rush her to the veterinarian. The surgery took the vet and her husband 3.5 hours. The knife went into her stomach. After a lot of trips back and forth to the vet she started to show that she would make it. At the end of August, Dancer's mom was stabbed. She died on Sept. 14, 2003.

The veterinarian bills for both horses was in excess of $5,000. I'm grateful to the Animal Rescue League and several local farmers who supplied me with hay to get through the winter.

We no longer have Dancer as she became very mean and angry after she was stabbed. I feared for our daughter, who was 3 at the time. For some reason Dancer seemed to direct all of her anger at her.

The person responsible for these terrible acts of cruelty was never prosecuted and even then it would have only been a misdemeanor.

The proposed law should be for cruelty to any animal, large or small. Last summer we rescued a male pomeranian who had been badly abused.

This law needs to be passed as soon as possible. Take a moment to write your state senators and representatives and express your opinion.

An expanded version of this letter can be found at http://hallslittleacre.com/dancer

SANDI HALL

Rathdrum