Today's Commissioner's Court meeting was like many others, several developers getting their plats and re-plats approved, budget items discussed and approved, and insurance coverage renewed- pretty ho hum until the sheriff got to his report at the very end of the meeting.

He wanted to explain the "horse situation".  Apparently there is this horse that was rescued that had a missing eye, the explaination the sheriff's department got was that it was in a fire and ripped it's  eye out.  One of the neighbors put a picture of the injured horse on a website for barrel race enthusiasts and the sheriff's department was bombared with calls and e mails alleging animal cruelty.

The man that rescued the horse didn't have the money to take the horse to the vet, so the sheriff's department found someone to help with the medical costs.  It was determined that the horse has cancer of the eye? Or cancer in the brain that caused the loss of the eye.  I didn't see any of the pics that were put on the website, but I'm sure they were horrible to look at.

Fortunately for the county, the newspaper and tv reporter's missed the website pics or they would have been here and Bandera would have been on the evening news. Bandera County has several horse rescue non profits that help in these situations and two pet adoption non profits, so we have many people willing to help pet owners who are over their heads, so to speak, with costs of pet ownership.

What bothers me is that people assume cruelty, and plaster pictures all over the web to incite others.  I'm glad the sheriff got involved and made sure that the animal got the help it needed, not glad some people assume the worst in people, and make a spectacle of it.