“If you can do more, you should.”
.............Robert Redford

December 24, 2006

Viewer Discretion Advised
Click to View Photos taken
the Night He was Rescued, Documenting the Abuse which had been Inflicted upon Saint Nick.

Wintertime for me is what I refer to as my “off” season. The two or three wild creatures I find myself caring for each winter offer a reprieve from the chaos that seems to surround me the rest of the year. There are no baby birds screaming to be fed, no abandoned baby bunnies, no baby squirrels rescued from downed trees, no orphaned fawns, no foundling fox pups. But cruelty and neglect do not know a seasonal time clock. They are ever-present, even at Christmas time.

I spent the Christmas of 2006 with my family in eastern South Dakota. I was looking forward to a relaxing time with my sister, Darci, at her home in the country. We had so much planned. All five of us “kids” would be home, not only to celebrate Christmas, but also to celebrate our parents’ anniversary. We had something planned almost every night. What wasn’t in the plans was a phone call that came Christmas Eve day concerning an abandoned horse.

FOUND GUILTY! After a 2 Day Trial, October 30 & 31, 2007 After the State's Attorney gave a compassionate closing argument concerning the responsibilities that come with owning an animal a jury found the owner of St. Nick guilty.
UPDATE: June 20, 2007 The Arraignment where the defendant will plead guilty or not guilty to the charges.
UPDATE: May 31, 2007 A grand jury session was held and brought in an indictment and await a trial date to be set.
UPDATE: May 17, 2007 The person charged with inhumane treatment in this case still believes he has done nothing wrong and no agreement was reached during the dispositional conference on May 17th.  There is now grand jury time scheduled for May 31, 2007
UPDATE: April 23^rd, 2007 The person charged with inhumane treatment of animals pled “not guilty” in Minnehaha County. It is up to the state to prove he is guilty. A dispositional conference has been scheduled for May 17^th.
UPDATE: April 6^th, 2007 A person from Crooks SD has been charged with inhumane treatment of animals. Court date is set for April 12^th at 9:00 a.m.
UPDATE: March 19^th, 2007 Report case file assigned to attorney in
Minnehaha County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Five years ago my sister and a group of friends founded DoubleHP (Horse Help Providers, Inc.), a rescue/adoption organization for unwanted and/or neglected horses. For the last two years during the holiday seasons they have been involved in rescue events. So it wasn’t surprising that this Christmas would be no different. I listened to the one side of the conversation and it didn’t sound good.

A neighbor had discovered the horse Christmas Eve morning while on his way to help with chores at his father’s place. The horse had apparently been left tied to a fence in a road ditch. The neighbor agreed to load the horse in his trailer and deliver it to my sister’s place. While we waited for the horse to arrive we readied a stall for him in the barn and a quick phone call to the veterinarian was made.

The neighbor and his father-in-law arrived with trailer in tow. They both got out of the pick-up and came over to where we were standing by the barn. The father-in-law said, “Do you have a strong stomach?” We braced ourselves for the sight that would greet us when the trailer door was opened. It was alarming, to say the least. The horse was emaciated. He was filthy and wet. He was literally bones with skin and hair covering them. Long, thick mane and tail that would otherwise have been beautiful were matted and tangled with cockle burrs and mud. He had a badly injured left hind leg and sores on his right hip and shoulder.

A second phone call to the veterinarian was made. The doctor on call asked if this was an old horse we were dealing with or a young one. It was too hard to tell, given his condition; and we don’t know how to “read teeth”. Based on the description of the horse, the doctor suggested that he be seen immediately and he would meet us at the clinic. Darci’s neighbor and his father-in-law agreed to deliver the horse to the clinic. We were going to drive a separate vehicle but were invited to ride along with them. So the four of us climbed into the truck and off we went to meet Dr. Steve Tornberg at Dakota Large Animal Clinic in Harrisburg, South Dakota.

I had not had the privilege of meeting Dr. Tornberg before but I’d heard many wonderful things about him from my sister. There are veterinarians and then there are veterinarians who are passionate about their work and give so generously of their time and compassion. I have the good fortune to work with two such individuals and I was about to meet a third.

Dr. Tornberg began his assessment of the horse, explaining everything as he went along. Dr. Tornberg looked at the teeth of the horse and said, “He’s only three to three and a half years old.”

Dr. Tornberg did not give the horse a very favorable prognosis. He had many strikes against him. We left the clinic with heavy hearts, hoping that this would be one of the lucky ones, one of the miracle stories. It was, after all, a magical time of year.

During the drive home we decided the horse needed to be given a name. No matter what the outcome, he needed a name and it should be Christmas-related. We tossed around several possibilities and later that day we agreed upon Saint Nick. “Saint” because he was being a saint in spite of the mistreatment he had received at the hands of humans. “Nick” because it was Christmas Eve. There was no doubt in our minds that we would be back the following day, Christmas Day, to visit Saint Nick.

Christmas Day arrived and Darci and I were anxious to visit our new friend. During the 40-minute drive to the clinic we spoke of the cruelties inflicted by humans, mended hearts being broken yet again, and hoping that this story would have a happy ending.

At first Saint Nick was hesitant to trust us and he moved to the back of his stall. We spoke in soft, soothing tones, telling him how beautiful he was and what a good boy he was. We rubbed his neck and stroked his cheeks and before long he was standing relaxed with eyes closed, allowing us to untangle the burrs and dirt from his long mane. We were allowing ourselves to be hopeful. Neither of us wanted to say good-bye to Saint Nick that day and if it hadn’t been Christmas we probably would have stayed all day. But we were expected back at Darci’s house to make Christmas dinner for 11 people! It’s difficult to think about feasting at times like these, but Saint Nick had food now, too, so we carried on. Before we left we made a little note that said, “My name is Saint Nick” and attached it to the door of his stall so that all who cared for him would know that he’d been given a name. As we turned to leave, Saint Nick came to the front of his stall and peered at us through the bars of the stall door, eyes saying, “Please stay. I enjoy your company.” Darci said, “He doesn’t want us to go.” It was difficult to leave him, but we left, allowing a little bit of hope to creep in.

The next morning’s phone call from Dr. Tornberg, however, did not bring good news. As Darci spoke with Dr. Tornberg, I had to turn away. I knew we were both going to cry. I looked out the kitchen window at Darci’s own horses basking in a life full of love—something that Saint Nick may have never experienced until we visited him on Christmas Day.

How do these creatures find their way to our hearts so quickly? How do we come to love and care for them so much in the same short span of time? I am haunted by the face of Saint Nick. Did he know any kindness prior to that Christmas Eve day? Did he know kind words and soft touches? Did his face know the pleasure of sweet kisses? Or did he move through his three short years of life knowing only cruelties and harsh words?

How does a person let this happen and will this person get away with this?

I still see Saint Nick’s eyes watching us through the bars of the stall door as we left him Christmas Day. Perhaps they weren’t only saying, “Please stay.” I think they were saying, “I would love for you to stay, but if you have to go, go and tell my story.”

Since returning home, he is on my mind constantly. Driving to work I will suddenly see his face in my mind. Feeding my hawk, his face will appear. Putting my ducks to bed, Saint Nick is on my mind. And with each “appearance” I feel his eyes asking, “Have you told my story yet? Have you told it yet?”, like the voice in the movie, Field of Dreams, that utters, “If you build it, they will come.”

So, that’s what I’m doing, Saint Nick. I can’t do much, but I can share your story with others. I can help make known the cruelties these beautiful, proud animals endure. I can show the pictures. If more people are made aware, if more voices are raised, if more waves are created-- maybe one day horses will be afforded more protection in the legal arenas.

For more information about how you can help, please visit the following website. www.doublehphorses.org

UPDATE: January 2, 2007

The Sheriff’s Dept. was able to track down the person who left Saint Nick in the ditch. It is now a legal matter. Saint Nick was humanely euthanized the day after Christmas. Some details have been taken out of this story, for now, so as not to interfere with any ongoing investigation or decisions.