Bryan Stewart

Richmond County Daily Journal

Two local Humane Society employees recently completed a 20 hour certification in Raleigh to receive training as equine cruelty investigators.

William Braden, a Richmond County animal control officer and Mark Pankey, Humane Society assistant shelter manager both completed the training program earlier this month at the N.C. State University Equine Center in Raleigh.

“It helped me a lot with the job,” Pankey said. “It taught me a lot I didn’t know about horses.”

The program trained both in how to spot malnutrition, vital signs, neglected health issues plus learn criminal law and body condition scoring.

According to Pankey, body scoring was one of the most important aspects of the training. Body scoring is being able to judge the condition of the horse’s body on a scale of 1-9. One being malnourished and nine being obese.

“It was very informative,” Braden said, “I feel more comfortable making a statement about a horse.”

Braden and Pankey are both certified Level I Animal Control Officers, North Carolina Certified Rabies Vaccinators and certified Animal Cruelty Investigators.

Pankey is the only independent animal cruelty investigator appointed by the Richmond County Board of Commissioners.

Animal cruelty investigators work with animal control and local law enforcement agencies with cases in which animal cruelty is suspected. They judge whether charges are to be pressed against the animal’s owner.

According to Braden, this was his first class with so much hands on training.

Due to hard times with money and the economy, some horse owners have neglected their animal and quit properly taking care of them, Pankey said.

“A lot of people can’t afford to feed a horse anymore,” Pankey said. “Trying to give them up or sell won’t always work, so it makes it hard to keep them.”

During the meeting, both men networked with a Scotland County animal control officer. Making cross-county cooperation with animal control an easier process and helps to quickly resolve issues within both counties.