There have been numerous comments all over social media that charges were not going to be pressed against a man who had severely neglected his horses, and I’m sure our county leaders are receiving many phone calls from disappointed residents.

While I understand the county was trying reach a win-win situation with the owner, I believe it sets a bad precedent.

Still in its infancy, the county animal control department has done a great job helping animals in need, and often those efforts go unrecognized.

The county had a chance here to show that neglecting an animal is a crime in this state, while it is only a misdemeanor, the offender could have been charged with one count of neglect for each of the 18 horses rescued.

Even if he was only charged for half of those offenses, this still would have set the standard that the county will not tolerate this kind of behavior, whether it be the first offense or another in a series of offenses.

Twenty-four horses will now be put up for adoption and that is the miracle of this situation.

If left on that farm, they could have met the same fate as the animal that started this investigation.

For those that are disappointed by this outcome, I encourage you to continue to report any instances of animal abuse in our community.

The more often these issues come to light, the more pressure it puts on the courts and lawmakers to solve them.

We often talk about the revolving door of drug crimes, but abuse of animals or humans is a cycle that needs to be stopped.