ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, September 25, 1996 TAG: 9609250063
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRISTINA NUCKOLS STAFF WRITER
THE 4-YEAR-OLD GELDINGS were in bad shape when they were seized. Now the county is taking bids for the orphans.
Life has been good for Chico and Jackson since a judge awarded Roanoke County officials custody of the two neglect victims.
As wards of the county, they've regained their health after malnourishment had reduced them to skin and bones.
But now it's time for Chico and Jackson to find a new home. County officials are going about the search in the only way they can. They're taking bids.
No, Chico and Jackson aren't children. Jackson is a black Tennessee walking horse. Chico is a bay Pasofino.
The 4-year-old geldings became the county's responsibility this summer when their owner, Laura Looney Wright of Boones Mill, was charged with and later convicted of inhumane treatment of animals.
"They were in bad shape," said Lt. Gary Roche of the Roanoke County Police Department. "They didn't have a rump. All you could see was the pelvis."
Sgt. W.B. Swisher said the horses also had mange rot and matted winter hair that hadn't been brushed off, even though it was July.
While the SPCA handles cats or dogs seized in neglect cases, horses require a different approach. At first, the county simply needed a place to keep them until the case could be heard in court. After spending several days at the stable used by Roanoke city's mounted police unit, Chico and Jackson were moved to a pasture in Botetourt County belonging to Lindsey Garvey, a part-time clerk in the Roanoke County Police Department's records division.
"I have two horses of my own, and I couldn't stand the thought of them not having a place to stay," she said.
The first thing Garvey did was give the horses names, since the names used by the previous owner were not passed on to county officials. She chose a southern name for the Tennessee walker and a Hispanic name for the Pasofino to denote the origins of the two breeds.
"They hadn't had anything to eat in so long, they wouldn't take a treat," Garvey said. "They didn't know what to do with an apple or a carrot, but that's all changed."
If Swisher had his preference, the horses would simply have been given to a good home after Wright's conviction. But Virginia law requires that county property be disposed of through a formal procurement process. So, for the first time that county officials can remember, they advertised a request for bids on horses. Bids are due by 3 p.m. Friday at the Roanoke County procurement office in the County Administration Center.
Interested buyers had the opportunity to view the horses Monday and Tuesday afternoon. Swisher said five people stopped by on Monday, and another three appeared during the first hour of Tuesday's viewing.
Swisher said Jackson has proven to be the crowd pleaser. While Chico shied away from the strangers peering over the fence at him Tuesday, Jackson walked up and reached over the fence to nudge them with his nose.
"He ain't nothing but a pest," said Jerry Hartman of Botetourt County, who is considering a bid along with his brother Pete. "I believe that horse has got some good blood in him."
"All we're hoping to do is find a good home for them," Swisher said.
The county also must recoup the money it has spent caring for the horses over the past two months. Swisher said the county's costs haven't been tallied, but will include $17 a week for feed plus boarding fees to both the city and Lindsey.
Although bidders have the option of bidding on either animal or both, Swisher said he suspects Chico and Jackson would prefer to remain field buddies.
"When you call one, they both come," he said. "They stick together."
Roche emphasized that the two horses won't necessarily be awarded to the highest bidder. In theory, the glue factory or even the previous owner could submit bids, but county officials said they will check references before turning over the horses. They've already invested too much in nursing Chico and Jackson back to health.
"We don't want to go through this again," Roche said.
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN/Staff. Jackson (left), a Tennessee walker,by CNBand Chico, a bay Pasofino, have been nursed back to health after
becoming wards of Roanoke County. color.