Aug 14, 2008

Texas: vet suspected of animal cruelty.

Horses do sometimes die of natural causes. While sometimes charges are necessary, other times people are needlessly railroaded.
One horse found dead, two horses possibly malnourished [link]
Lauren Williamson | Aug 14, 2008

A Corpus Christi veterinarian might be charged with animal cruelty after the disturbing discovery of a dead horse and two others malnourished in her backyard pasture. The dead horse was found at veterinarian Sally Bywaters' house. Neighbors said it had been lying outside for about a week and was swarming with flies. The two malnourished horses were taken to a rescue agency by emergency court order. County officials said the two horses' bones were prominent, as if they had been underfed for awhile.

Bywaters has worked for the Gulf Coast Humane Society for 10 years. She said she euthanized the horse herself. "He had numerous problems, like liver disease and cancer," Bywaters said. "...The other two horses are young thoroughbreds and are naturally thin... These allegations are crazy," she added.

Neighbors said they have not seen any abuse. "It's a retirement place for old horses. They let them roam and put them in a pasture and feed them and take care of them," Bywaters' neighbor, John Gravell, said. "I'd hate to see them bring animal cruelty charges against her because they died of old age." Bywaters is working toward getting her other two horses back. County officials will decide later this week whether or not to press charges against Bywaters.
XP

3 comments:

ritagirl said...

I don't believe a word she says. I believe she lives in a fancy neighborhood and doesn't go to Church to take care of her horses properly. Any vet would also know the health hazzards of leaving a dead animal out in this heat for a week. It also shows great disrespect for all animals. And young horses are NOT "naturally thin". This disgrace of a vet needs her licese revoked. To think she makes her living from animals and yet treats them in this horrible manner.

anonymous said...

Talking about animal cruelty... maybe there should be an investigation of the cruelty that goes on at the Humane Society with the animals and the people that work there. Coming from a previous employer, there's a lot that goes on that the public doesn't see. Dr. Bywaters will say straight out of her mouth that the Humane Society is a no kill shelter; but, what she won't say is that that's a complete lie. I have seen with my own eyes her put animals down because the Director, Denise Morales, decided that the Humane Society won't make money off of it. They also abort animals that come in already pregnant that are not a good looking breed. Currently, the Humane Society is going through a legal battle because Denise Morales will not give two Great Danes back to their owner because she knows she can make several hundred dollars off of each dane puppy that the female is about to have. One story I will provide you with is the time Sally Bywaters decided to dip some puppies by herself after hours and forgot how many puppies she put in there. Two days later a dead puppy was found in there that had drowned due to her lack of attention. Employees work in areas where there are dead animals left on the floor in trash bags or in cages for days before being removed and most of the time only because the smell is so bad. And not to forget about the Humane Society not having enough money to provide enough food, litter, and essentials for the animals because they're too busy using the money to pay for their own personal cell phone bills, cell phones, and snacks for some of the employees. And how about the descrimination that they show to some of the female employees that work there by not allowing them to have any sort of break what so ever through out the day. This place seems more like a concentration camp than an enjoyable place. These animals need to get out of this place as soon as possible. This place needs to be shut down.

John Arnold said...

One of the difficulties of the internet is "anonymous" postings.

Here's the scoop on this case:

After testimony by witnesses, it was ruled that Sally Bywaters did nothing...and that there was no cruelty whatsoever. The horse that died did indeed have liver disease, and was old. Dr. Bywaters had purchase the drugs to put him down, had receipts, etc. She had attempted to contact the pasture's owner for permission to bury the horse on the property, had arranged for a backhoe to dig the grave, etc...and was simply awaiting a response from the owner when Rockport (Texas, where the pasture is) animal control vet - not only new on the job, but newly graduated - saw the carcus and called Channel 6 television news....WITHOUT contacting Dr. Bywaters, and WITHOUT doing any forensics at all.

As for the "drowned puppy"....pleeze. "Anonymous" is most likely a disgruntled ex-employee of the Gulf Coast Animal Shelter...which is indeed a no-kill shelter. Dr. Bywaters is well-known in the Corpus Christi animal-care community as totally dedicated to the care of animals...and works long hours at the shelter and in the community to that cause. Note that even Anonymous's story had to frame the lie with "after hours"...

Anyway, before believing any of the hype of this story, it is best to check the actual court records...Facts are facts!