It seemed like a storybook ending.
Dozens of neglected animals rescued from a Somerset ranch found sanctuary at the Grace Foundation in El Dorado Hills, and most were adopted into good homes.
But for seven of the rescued horses, the ending may be anything but happy. The nonprofit Grace Foundation has been unable to find permanent places for them, and now is facing the prospect of seeing them put to death.
"We put so much time and energy into these animals," Grace Foundation founder Beth DeCaprio said. "It's gut-wrenching to think what might happen to them."
The horses were part of a group of 47 animals seized in April by El Dorado County Animal Services. They had been living at a Somerset ranch where they apparently had been neglected for years. The county, which contracts with Grace to board livestock, transferred the animals to the foundation, where staffers and volunteers nursed them to health and found permanent homes for most of them.
But seven horses remain unadopted, and neither the county nor the foundation can afford to keep them permanently, officials said.
El Dorado County is being forced to consider other options for the animals, including putting them to death, said chief animal services officer Linda Haller.
"Our first goal, as always, is to see the horses get adopted into loving homes," Haller said. Other options include finding horse lovers or another rescue group to "sponsor" or "foster" the animals.
"Our last resort would be humane euthanasia," she said.
Haller said the county already has invested thousands of dollars in the horses, though she declined to be more specific. The county wants to find a permanent solution to the dilemma by Sept. 1, she said.
The seven remaining horses "are all wonderful," said DeCaprio, but two are largely "pasture pets" because of injuries, and others lack proper training.
Keeping them at Grace, which currently has more than 100 horses, most of which have been abused or neglected, is not a realistic option without financial support, DeCaprio said. She said it would cost the foundation about $1,400 a month to continue caring for the horses. Grace is struggling, she said, in part because of soaring gas and hay prices.
"Just two years ago, we were paying $10 a bale for hay. Now it's $20," said DeCaprio. At the same time that basic costs are soaring, she said, people appear to be abandoning horses and other livestock. "They're just opening the gates and letting them out," she said.
DeCaprio regularly gets inquiries from people who no longer can afford to care for their horses, she said.
"They've lost their job or their house or just had to cut back, and they don't know what to do about their horses," she said. "They are luxury items today."
DeCaprio said she is "devastated" at the notion that the horses rescued from Somerset might now have to die.
"It's a very dark day for horses in our economy," she said. "I never thought I would see a day when we had to think about euthanasia."
Call The Bee's Cynthia Hubert, (916) 321-1082.
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