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Panhandle Equine Rescue Issues Statement On Comments About Recent Arrests
October 22, 2009
The group Panhandle Equine Rescue has issued a statement regarding the arrest of Robin and Lynn Floyd of Century last week on animal cruelty charges.
PER President Diane Lowery issued the statement as an open response to members of the public that posted comments on NorthEscambia.com’s story about the arrests. Read the story and the ensuing comments by clicking here.
Robin Brownie Floyd, 53, and Lynn Livingston Floyd, 42, of Gilmore Road, Century, were charged with confinement of animals without sufficient food or water last Thursday. Both are free on bond and are scheduled to appear in court for an arraignment hearing on November 5.
The following is the submitted statement in its entirety from PER President/Investigator, Diane Lowery regarding the arrest of the Floyds:
Since the arrest of the Floyds, several people have expressed their thoughts on this horrible situation. Some have offered their support of PER and some will ultimately stand by the accused, for various reasons and that is their right. But others choose to criticize our efforts to bring these people to justice. We have learned that we can’t control rumors or naysayers, but we feel that a statement must be made, since there has been such an overwhelming response on the comment section of www.northescambia.com.
I can understand why so many people were skeptical of us when we began in February 2005, since there had never been a horse rescue in the history of Escambia County and certainly never any equine investigators! Since then we have gained the support from most of our local community, as well as others outside of our county and state. We have helped hundreds of horses to have better lives, through educating the owners and working with them to help make improvements in their feeding/management program. Of course, initially, people are offended that they have been “reported” and we understand that. In most cases, people welcome any recommendations that we can give to make things right for their equines. Others simply will not cooperate and that is when we must put the welfare of the animals first and if necessary take appropriate action as allowed by law. If we just walked away to avoid confrontation, then we are not doing our job and we are letting the animals down by leaving them in a bad situation. Unfortunately, sometimes those owners are well known and liked by many, but we can’t let that interfere in doing what is best for the equines. It is difficult to follow through because we know that we are “opening up a can of worms”, but we can’t treat them any different than someone else who is not well known in the community.
It would be too lengthy to go into the details of how we operate, but I can say that we do operate within the Florida Statutes. We are very familiar with animal cruelty laws and are often called upon by animal control and the sheriffs department to assist with equine cruelty cases. These entities would not ask for our assistance, if they did not have complete confidence in our abilities.
We are truly sorry that the arrest had to be made; but steps had to be taken to assure that this would never happen again. They will have their day in court and it will ultimately be up to the judge to make a decision on their guilt or innocence. Until then, we will continue our efforts to help the horses in Escambia County.
Pictured top: One of the horses involved in an abuse case on Gilmore Road. Submitted photo by PER for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Comments
35 Responses to “Panhandle Equine Rescue Issues Statement On Comments About Recent Arrests”
Well said Suzie!
Me and my husband cared for these horses from the very first day .I just wanted to let evryone know they are all doing great .They are going to the Georiga Horse Rescue and Relief and will be placed for adoption when ready.I hope evryone makes a donation to either rescue that helped in this they both need donations very badly.Rather than bash each other and be part of the problem why dont we alll become part of the “SOLUTION “
Attention: Suzie or we could go back to the dark ages before NorthEscambia and stick our heads back in the sand!!!!! NOT, I prefer to know what is going on in our community good and bad. The good can be acknowledged and praised the bad can be brought to light and dealt with. Thank you William!!!!
so, wild bill & mr hudson,
if these people are your friends or you are so concerned about being innoncent until proven guilty, and the negative media coverage I ask you this,
if you were or are a horse owner, and had to go out of town for an extended period of time (say 1 month) would you trust these people to care for your animals? 1 month seems like enough time for an animal to get very sick and malnourished. would you ask these people to watch you horses? I know I would not, friend or no friend.
Wild Bill — so it’s wrong to publish pictures of those arrested for crimes? William and northescambia should be ran out of town! I’ve never seen suspect photos on WEAR, WKRG, WALA, WPMI, the Pensacola News Journal, the Mobile Press Register, the Tri-City Ledger — oh wait — I think that’s what newspaper other media outlets do! How dare northescambia report real news!
I don’t see you Wild Bill commenting on the positive stories running right now. A missionary couple going to south america, a veteran’s trip to washington, an interesting history piece about atmore, kids playing volleyball, a well-researched and totally cool article we will read nowhere else about earthquakes here where we live, dulcimer players at the old folks home, a barn bash, homecoming and williams station day. Yep, I can see william is just running mug shots and nothing else.
And what’s wrong with him making personal gain? He obviously busts his butt 7 days a week, sometimes at 3 a.m. to bring us the news. We are all appreciative of what he does, and I for one want to see him make as much money as possible. Sometimes I think he spends too much time serving the community and people feel like it is his obligation to do this site. He provides it to us for free (how many free local newspaper have you picked up lately?) and he deserves personal gain.
Molino Mom,
I do not know Mr. Hudson or the Floyds from Adam. And for the record, none of my family, relatives, or CLOSE friends, have ever been depicted on here, or any other news outlet that I am aware of, in a negative light.
My point is “The story is fine, the pictures of the animals are fine, but is it REALLY necessary to post the pictures of the ACCUSED until they have been found guilty?
I agree William does an okay job reporting the local “feel good” stories and the occaisional ambulance chaser story, but I think recently he has gone overboard in an attempt to publically embarrass people for his own personal gain. I see this as a downward trend in his professional judgement.
“Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself. ”
— Confucius
Wild Bill, you comment on William humiliating your friends, yet you are quick to humiliate William by attacking his reporting and his alleged “greed for money.”
How hypocritical is that? Yet, even more ironic, you continue to read this web site…and, you continue to post your comments.
I, for one, appreciate William’s reporting. If not for this news site, it would be days, perhaps weeks, before I would know what is happening in this area. I certainly can’t rely on Pensacola or Atmore reporting much of anything.
Unfortunately, not everything in life is a “feel good” story.
I find this situation sad on so many levels. However what upsets me the most is the fact that so many people in our community wake up every morning and rush to their computer just to see what awful things have happened that day. then these same people send the rest of their day tearing someone else down.
Either thru these comments or on the phone to everyone they know. It’s pretty sad that some people have nothing better to do with their time. Come on people this isn’t middle school Real life is hard. How about spending some of your time doing something good for some one else. And if you can’t bring yourselves to do that then at least learn to keep your mouths shut .Gossip is a horrible thing.
Just remember you reap what you sow.
You know, Wild Bill, it’s funny that when the apparently poplular people the Floyds were arrested on charges brought by PER, everyone complained. It’s all Williams fault and he should not print this mess.
When two people in a dumpy trashy trailer that very few people knew were arrested for the same thing, northescambia was great for printing the story and PER was great for busting them:
http://www.northescambia.com/?p=9702
http://www.northescambia.com/?p=9347
Everybody likes to read the stories about those people and praise PER. Everybody likes to read the stories about the crackheads that are busted for doing more crack, or the meth heads that get busted.
But when it was your friends, Wild Bill & Robert Hudson, that got busted, you set off to trash PER and northescambia.
I think thousands of people agree that northescambia does a great job of covering ALL of the news. THe good, the bad and real ugly. Everybody is fine with that unless it’s about them. Don’t get arrested, and you won’t be in the news.
I’m sure if they are found innocent, William will run a story. Until then, he has reported what happened. They were arrested and booked in JAIL like the other suspected criminals. You just don’t like it because they are your friends.
Mr. Hudson and others,
I find it odd that you have so much animosity towards PER when they were merely bringing to light the fact that these animals are malnourished and may need more assistance than your friends can provide. It was not PER that has pasted their pictures all over the internet. It was not PER that made this private case public. It was not PER that brought public shame to this family. It was the reporter and editor of this media outlet.
If you have issue with anyone, it should be with William because he is the one who saw the need to publically embarrass your friends without knowing the full story. He chose to publically humiliate them without giving them the benefit of being innocent until proven guilty. PER did what they thought was in the best interest of the animals. The ECSO followed the letter of the law. It is NorthEscambia.com who has caused your friends to be publically stoned, tarred and feathered. William most certainly acted within the letter of the law by publishing this story and their photos, but I also certainly think he acted carelessly and maliciously by publishing this story and their accompanying photos without knowing the whole story. But that is what happens when we put the value of the advertising dollar ahead of human compassion. In my opinion, arrest photos should not be public information unless the person(s) have been found guilty or pose a threat to the public at large. Neither of which is the case in this particular story.
I liked this newsforum better when it was more about the “feel good” stories and less like every other media outlet. Sad to see it heading that direction……….
I think PER is doing a good thing, and anyone who can separate themselves from the offenders and look at this objectively would have to agree. if this was not about people (who might be friends of ours or not) the bottom line is this sets an example to the community and the children of the community, that when there is a need, as a friend and neighbor, you step up to the plate and assist anyway you can. if these “friends” of the accused were close friends is it reasonable to think they would have seen these animals? if the case was with children, and I know it is not I am only using this as an example, anyone having knowledge of the poor treatment would stand to face charges as well. Unlike other types of crime abuse to humans has a “duty to inform” statute meaning if you see it or know about it you must report it or face prosecution yourself. why should animals be different? if your friend can not afford to feed their animals or provide the basic needs, as a friend step up and offer to help or at least assist in getting help. there is no excuse for any of this in this day and age. there is a community all around willing to help out, sometimes we must swallow our pride and ask for help!
I don’t know much about horses, but when I saw the pictures of these animals I wanted to cry. To Mr Hudson I know that you are just defending your friends but, that doesn’t change what they did to these helpless God’s creatures. I ask you this, “What if someone had taken some children and hidden them behind a No Trespassing sign and preceded to starve them to almost death, would you as a human being not report it?”
I also do not know the Floyds they may be good people but, that doesn’t excuse what they have done.
I work out in the county and you better believe if I see any animal being abused I am going to report it.
May God Bless you all and have mercy on you.
Wendy,
In “those” we can’t help – I am not referring to four legged animals, I am talking about people.
Wendy:
I would “almost” bet the farm that we agree on most things.
I am glad that you are a horse person.
We should all be responsible individuals. Unfortunately, I could be as responsible as Mother Theresa and die tonight of heart failure. I could only hope and pray that my family would be “responsible” with my animals. But there is no guarantee of anything in life. We can only do what WE can do. So the question for the universe is “how do we fix the problem”? We need to find answers and make sure things like this don’t repeat themselves. Unfortunately with the history of the world that probably is not possible. So, I take care of mine, you take care of yours and we pray for all of those that we can’t help.
trish sorry to disappoint you but i do have 5 horses. 2 from people that bred and didnt get what they wanted and the other 3 were abused or starved. and yes your right crap happens to us all but if we bring something into this world shouldnt we be responsible for it one way or the other. There is millions of horses for sale on the internet, rescues have so many horses they barely can make it but everyday someone is breeding more animals….. that goes for cat and dogs to…
Thank youTrish, very well said.
Sorry to all,
My passion caused me to write a short novel and not a comment.
Speaking as someone who has adopted a horse from PER I can tell you that they are fantastic , caring individuals with one goal, the welfare of the animal. Diane is a fine upstanding neighbor and I’m glad we have her and the others so that abusive owners may be ferreted out and dealt with. Robert Hudson, I’m sure there are a few that dont trust you either.
Wendy – sorry I don’t agree with you. I have been a horse owner all of my life (when I was young and had very little money and older with more than sufficient desposible income). This country’s horse problem escalated when the PETA people had the slaughter houses closed. There are always two sides to a story, read any horse magazine and you will see both sides. Yes I love horses, no I don’t eat horsemeat. Yes, I do think there is legitimate reasons for slaughterhouses. It is easy to say to people that they should just find homes for their horse if they can no longer care for them. News Flash!! Not that easy. Not every other person has the facilities to care for a horse. It is not like taking in a stray dog. There is no guarantee that because you can afford something today that you will be able to afford it tomorrow. Crap happens to all of us.
It was just a short while ago there was an article in NorthEscambia about how PER could not take any more animals. A untrained 1200 lb. angry animal can and will kill you. Yes, no doubt people caused most of the problems. Just as people caused the over population of dogs. It is easy to point the finger to over breeding in horses when chances are you are not a horse owner. But remember dogs and cats are in the same category. How many people have cats but don’t spay or neuter them. Not so different.
J.D. – my opinion, the ASPCA does some great things but the organization is run by people. People who sometimes have their own agenda. I have seen programs on Animal Planet where the ASPCA has taken animals that looked perfectly healthy. Granted I was looking at a TV and not in person. According to a story on Dateline, some ASPCA organizations take animals (animals that are not what most people would call abused and neglected) and they do “adopt” them out for large fees. Therefore making money for the organization. Imagine that, PEOPLE wanting to make themselves look good at doing their job (no matter how they do it).
If the local judge gave the dog back to the owner I would assume there was a reason. I was not in the courthouse and did not hear the facts. Most judges are not stupid people. If they are we need to vote them out.
AL – You are abolutely right about horse costs. Very few make a profit when it comes to horses. The word horses and profit does not normally go together. The daily cost of feed and hay is expensive enough without even adding ferrier work every 7 – 8 weeks and vet bills. Not even counting regular worming and shots (if you do it yourself). People who only see horses on tv are clueless about care/cost involved. Which is why it comes back to how you just can’t give a horse away.
So it really comes down to this. Yes the horses were starved, you would have to be blind not to see that. My question is this – NONE of us know all of the facts, passions run wild where the heart is concerned. These are people who are innocent until proven by a court of law that they are guilty. If they have slowly let these beautiful animals starve then they will be punished. If there is more to the story then they will be set free.
You might want to be thankful that it is not your name being dragged through the mud. You would think it was an injustice if it were you and you knew that you were innocent. But with all of the mud slinging who would give YOU the bennefit of the doubt? So why don’t we stop slinging, like it or not we are all to blame in some way.
Other countries eat dogs and cats, too, but I’m not in favor of exporting them for slaughter! Horses are a special part of our culture. We view them with more respect than some other countries. They helped build this country, clear the land, transport the pioneers, carried our soldiers to battle. They aren’t just livestock to most of us horse lovers.
“To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Also you do not think that if the fine folk in europe wish to eat horse meat that we should not export it? It is live stock and has been for hundreds of years.
closing slaughter house is not our problem…… OVER BREEDING is. if people will stop breeding just because they have a mare and stallion then there wouldnt be so many animals out there in need. what about the people that were stealing horse and taking them to auction for money.. how do you think the people felt that had their horses stoled and found out they had been slaughtered. The slaughter houses were for people that bred too many or were just to sorry to take care of the animals they have. Mr. Hudson it sounds like you try to take care of your horses so as long as you do that i dont think you will have to worry about PER showing up at your door. you know these people do have a life, they have to have a reason (you know a report)before they go out to someones home. why dont you go to their site or find out more info before you make threats about what you will do if they come to your home.
Keep up the GREAT WORK that yall do PER. As a member of the ASPCA I am extremely dissatisfied with the Animal Abuse Laws in this and other states. They seem to be in favor of the people who abuse and mistreat the animals and not for those who try to stop it. Just look at that person who drug that poor little dog beside his car. The JUDGE GAVE THE DOG BACK TO HIM. That is like putting a child molester in a room full of children and locking the door after you leave. We need to stand up for these animals just like we do for our children and old folks. And the laws need to be just as tough on crimes against animals as it is for crimes against people.
When PETA shut down the slaughter houses, and barried the export of horse meat to Europe this is what caused the problem. Then they just walk away with out any resposibility, Nice job PETA( truly worthless bunch). Now I do not care what they eat in another country, and it is not our place to. Food is food , and a horse is live stock. Ya’ll need to get of your high horse’s and get their side of the story first.
I don’t know a thing about raising horses; but any fool can see by looking at the picture that this horse is on the brink of death due to starvation.
While I agree that rich and poor owners of neglected animals should be treated alike; the bottom line has to be: if you cannot afford or are not willing to properly care for an animal – any animal – don’t have one.
“amazed” is 100% correct – to defend people like this by hiding behind a “no trespassing” sign is beyond me.
“A commenter in the previous article mentioned that they seem to be doing this for profit and I tend to agree.”
I am not a huge fan of PER methods, though I appreciate their work – basically appreciate the ends but not so much the means.
I completely take issue with David and the original poster about PER being for profit though – that is an absolutely ridiculous notion.
If you own a horse and take any measure of reasonable care, you know that the $100 – $400 adoption fees don’t come close to paying what the rescue spends in food and vet care, much less making a “profit”.
The way I see it if you take care of your animals, keep your vet receipts / have a good relationship with your vet (for a reference) then you have nothing to ‘fear’ from rescue groups.
Well first of all , who is in the right and who is in the wrong, did the guy try to break in to this other guys house? Was he tresspassing? Is it my neigbor that is injured?For all I know he was and maybe he is getting what he deserved. But I know one thing I can read, and NO TRESSPASSING means just that. A man house is his castle, and if he needs the law, I sure he is going to call. Their is no excuse, no reason to tresspass on some one’s property. In fact there is a law that is called the CASTLE DOCTRINE, that has been passed to pervent such a thing. If you are there illegally, you are a threat. If you are on my property without my permission then I believe that you are up to no good. And I have the right to have you arrested!
have you looked at their website. i didnt see any valuable horses on there..did you read the other stories about PER. It seems like you are only mad at PER because he was your friend. Ask yourself one question, if you didnt know who the horses belong to would you be against PER or would you feel sorry for the horses????? and i also think that if some rich person was starving their horses it wouldnt matter to PER they would do whatever it took to make sure the horses were safe. Thank you Mrs. Lowery for your statement i think you do a good job.
Some of you make no sense whatsoever.
First of all, I’m not a huge animal lover; however, I certainly don’t like seeing ones that are abused. I’m not saying “poor” people, as “David” called them, are not entitled to have animals. But they do have the same obligations, as all animal owners should, to be able to take care and provide for those animals. If they cannot afford the care, food, whatever is necessary, then they should be willing to turn those animals over to someone who can care for them. I’m not speaking of this couple, persay, I’m talking anyone in general. If you cannot care for your animals, whether you’re poor or rich, then you should not have them. PERIOD!
To Mr. Hudson: If you were walking down the street and saw two people fighting in the front yard, noticing that one had been beaten so badly that they were on the brink of death, you wouldn’t stop and try to help because they have a “no trespassing” sign on their front gate? Seems to me, that says what kind of citizen you are right there and I hope I never have to depend on you to come to my rescue.
The Horse Rescue organizations spend a fortune rescuing animals and many of the responders have been spending personal money on these rescued animals for years and years. And I mean thousands and thousands of dollars. To think rescue organizations of any kind make a profit is a pretty wild notion to me. They don’t sell the animals they rescue, they adopt them out. Yes, there’s a small fee but it never covers the initial vet work on these horses.
The horse community nationwide is swamped with unwanted animals and has been for a long time now. Well-bred animals won’t even bring slaughter prices. I found homes for 3 horses in the last year. Their owners either were in financial straights or had health issues. Just like PER, I fed them for months, had them vet checked, paid for a farrier, found them homes and didn’t recoop a penny. I did it because I love horses. You have to have a pretty strong stomach with work with what PER sees all the time. God bless ‘em!
One thing an old horseman told me when I was first starting out in horses was that just because somebody has had horses all their lives, it doesn’t mean they know what they’re doing. They could have been doing things wrong all their lives. PER does the dirty work we as individuals don’t have the fortitude to do, confronting neighbors, dealing with abused and starving animals, frequently watching them die because they are beyond help. PER didn’t create the problem, they just handle it. Every day.
Dear Daine Lowery, I trust you and your group about as far as I can throw my 1150 pound mare. You need to remember one thing, NO TRESSPASSING means exactly that. And the law works both way. But I do hope that when it all said and done, that PHR is held responsibile for what ever financal hardships that they have caused the Floyds.
If you look at the pictures you can see these animals were not fed and taken care of at all!! these people do a GREAT job taking these animals who can not do for themselves and bringing them back to health. People who speak against them are not animal lovers themselves!!!!!!
It seems to me that most of these rescue groups begin with the best of intentions. However, they often degenerate into holier than thou preachers who launch witch hunts against good people and target the most valuable animals.
A commenter in the previous article mentioned that they seem to be doing this for profit and I tend to agree. It seems to me that these rescue groups most often target poor people who own valuable animals. I can only surmise that poor people are less likely to launch a formidable legal fight and the valuable animals are the prize.
The response from PER above is very well written and convincing. However, you must realize that skilled communications is just a skill. It does not make them angels. It makes what they say sound convincing, but does not necessarily mean that it is true. And, good or bad, if they were not skilled communicators they would have been out of business long ago.
As time goes on I encourage you to watch and see how many skinny horses you see next to big wealthy homes never get seized and how many of the horrid “animal abusers” you see in this and other papers are poor folks with no means to defend themselves.
Amen.