Rest In Peace, Barley

She is the result of South Carolina's atrocious animal cruelty laws, or lack thereof. It seems as if they are designed specifically to discourage people from reporting cruelty, and to "penalize" abusers to the bare minimum, if at all. We currently rank 47th in the country as far as animal welfare. Do you see the sores on Barley's legs? Do you see her emaciated frame? I know you see the sling that was crafted so that she could stand up. Do you know why her owner, who had starved her for months, wasn't charged with animal cruelty? Because she had called the farrier out to take care of Barley's feet. You can starve an animal as much as you want, only as long as you take care of their feet! Puppy mill owners have had their dogs seized (only to fill up shelter space for dogs who truly needed the help) and then are able to walk free with no penalty so that they can resume their "businesses". You can call animal control to report abuse, but only if you give them your name so that they can tell the alleged abusers who you are.  Not their problem if they choose to retaliate against you, after all. And if the animal abuser is their friend or family? Forget it. All's animal control is going to do is tell you what a nice person they are and then spread rumors about you and tell everyone how stupid you are and how you're on a witch hunt while there's starving, lame horses rotting away in pitch black, dilapidated barns with no windows.

Barley died today because South Carolina's law makers allowed her to.  Her death is on them, and they probably don't even care. They don't care about the dogs tethered to trees on six foot leashes for their entire lives. They don't care about the animals who spend their lives in filthy cages, with their only purpose being to bring more puppies into that abhorrent life. 

When I saw Barley a few days ago, she was eating and drinking and alert, her eyes were bright and her caretakers were optimistic. She even had a home lined up for when she recovered. Barley will never get to go home now, to be fat and happy in a pasture and not worry about whether or not she's going to get fed that day. Barley is gone, because the people in power did not care.

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