To the editor:

Have you ever seen a dog so skinny that you could count every bone in its body? We have.

A dog with hair so matted that it cannot see and its mouth is matted shut so it cannot eat. Anemic because it is covered with fleas.

How about a horse that is so emaciated it can barely stand, its body covered with a bacterial infection, no hair to keep it warm and it’s 30 degrees outside, struggling to breathe because of a respiratory infection, and maggots up to its knees because it has been standing in a small confined area in two feet of muck for months. The drinking water is slimy green and the hay is black with mold.

Have you ever gone to a farm and there are dead/decaying animals laying everywhere? Animals that have been laying on the ground in their own feces for days in the cold rain unable to stand, wishing that death would come swiftly, or that someone would come help them so their suffering would end due to the owners having a bad divorce so they chose to let the animals starve to death and to blame each other for it.

Have you ever held a dying animal in your arms trying to comfort it, listening to it cry from the pain, knowing that the veterinarian is going to euthanize it because there is nothing more that can be done to save it?

Have you ever had someone call you and ask for help because they could not feed their animals due to financial problems?

We have done all of these things. This whole group of investigators has done all these things and so much more. When a call comes in about an animal in trouble or a person that needs help, we drop everything, even my job, and get them some help immediately. We don’t look or care what political party they are in or what campaign signs they have in their yard. We care about the animal – that is all.

This volunteer group has worked countless hours in all kinds of conditions to serve the animals and citizens of Polk County and is willing to continue to do so. We have served the citizens of Polk County to the best of our ability and our team has been decimated. We ask that you reconsider and reinstate myself and Nancy Hasselbring so that our team can continue to help the animals of Polk County — without regard to race, creed, or political affiliation.

Patti Lovelace
Nancy Hasselbring