Rural Charm Does Not Involve The Recreational Shooting Of Horses

To the Editor:

The Indian Summer glow of this past Columbus Day weekend was incredible and I enjoyed spending the weekend outside with my dog and horses.  Unfortunately, two incidents marred this wonderful weekend and I wanted to share them with the readership of the Chronicle.

Incident One:

I live on Snyder Pond Road in West Copake and my family has been in residence there since the 1960s.  The road has changed over the years through development of new houses, farms being shuttered and fields being replaced by houses.  It’s always been a quiet road; however, the Brown’s Dam bridge closure has brought marked and unpleasant changes.  First, it was the increase in traffic.  Apparently, our little road has become the direct line to the Copake Transfer Station.  Saturdays around here become a regular autobahn and people have little to no respect for the residents of our once quiet street.  People in their haste to get the trip to the dump over with hurtle down the street with little care for the pedestrians, wildlife, bicyclists and equestrians that are out enjoying the peaceful and quiet nature of the road.  While outside with my dog, I began to notice that things were not right on my little road.  First, there was the McDonald’s bag, its contents strewn along the side of the road, and then there was the six pack of empty beer cans dumped out together, the three vodka bottles, candy wrappers, clothing and other refuse.  I was sick to my stomach.  Since when did it become okay, appropriate, common place and accepted to use the side of the road to dump your garbage out of your vehicle? 

Rather than complain, I went back to the house and got a couple of garbage bags.  My dog Benjamin and I walked both sides of the road and collected garbage:  other people’s garbage for ¼ mile.  I would have gone farther, but my bags were full and my heart heavy.  I felt like the American Indian in the commercial from the 70’s riding a horse along a freeway littered with debris and garbage and a tear in his eye. As a child I truly believed that that would never, could never happen here in a small town like Copake, I was so wrong.  People the next time you go through the fast food drive through or pick up a drink at a convenience store, do me a favor and wait until you get home to dispose of the litter.  The side of my road (or any road) is not where it belongs.  It is unacceptable to expect others to clean up after you and if you are “adult” enough to drive a car, then do me a favor and be adult enough to throw your trash away in a trash can. 

Incident Two:

Facebook has indeed become the preferred way to keep in touch even in the small little town of Copake, New York.  So I was especially interested to see that my friend Heather White’s status on Monday, October 11, 2011, was regarding one of her horses, Luna.  There was a beautiful shot of Luna in a lovely field of spring grass, underneath the caption read, RIP Sweet Luna.  This horse was young, just nine years old.  How could she possibly be gone?  Heather owns Rocky Meadow Farm on Yonderview Road in Copake.  I was shocked to learn that on Sunday, Luna was found dead in the pasture adjacent to Yonderview Road.  Heather bought Luna last December as a birthday present to herself at the Heritage auction in Massachusetts.  Heather fell in love with the black and white paint horse and when her price did not rise above the meat buyers’ price, she knew she had to save this mare.  Although slaughter is no longer legal in the United States, horses are routinely purchased by kill buyers who ship the horses to Mexico and Canada where they are slaughtered for human consumption in Europe and Asia.

Luna had been grazing in the front pasture all weekend with three or four other horses.  It is believed that sometime on Sunday between 8:30 am and 5:00 pm, someone shot the horse with a rifle.  Luna did not struggle and apparently died where she was shot.  It was not an accident.  It was a deliberate and criminal act motivated by god only knows what.  This was not a hunting accident.  It is duck season, which requires a shotgun and birdshot.  Luna was shot intentionally, with malice and with the motivation to kill a horse. 

We live in Copake, New York, the land of rural charm.  Well, I’m here to tell you that part of the rural charm does not involve the recreational shooting of horses, pets, cows, sheep, goats or any other animal.  People should be able to turn their horses out without fear that they may come home to find them dead in their field or merely wounded by someone on a thrill seeking mission to shoot and kill something.  I am not a gun owner, yet I would never deprive a responsible person from owning and shooting a gun.  Responsible people do not kill harmless and defenseless animals for sport.  

Friends of Heather White have banded together on Facebook and other outlets to fundraise for a sizable reward to hopefully bring Luna’s killer to justice.  The reward is growing as we get the word out there.  In just one day, it has grown to $1350 from the generosity of people, many of whom do not know Heather White or Luna.  If you would like to pledge money toward the reward, please email Kate Thurlow at srfrescue@aol.com. 

The reward will be given to the person or people who come forward with information leading to the arrest of the Luna’s killer.  If you have information regarding this crime, please contact the Copake Police Department at 518-329-2727.

I truly hope this criminal act was an isolated incident and not a sign of the times.  I was truly touched by the outpouring of contributions to Luna’s reward fund.   As a final note, I wanted to share a quote, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” —Mahatma Gandhi

I want to thank Bob Sacks for providing the Copake Chronicle as a means to disseminate information in our small town. 

Sincerely,

Hilarie L. Thomas