Family saves horse never meant for slaughter...

Canadian family saves horse from DeKalb slaughterhouse
By Leah Hope
May 19, 2005 — DeKalb police have investigated several claims of horses wrongly taken to slaughter. Usually their intervention comes too late for the horse. But a panicked call from a Canadian man started another investigation to save Montana.
If Montana could talk, what a story she would tell. Montana was a Canadian family's pet horse that was nearly slaughtered in DeKalb.

"She was literally minutes away," said Officer Jason Watson, DeKalb police.

"She saw what was going on. She heard the distress from those animals," said Barb Boubelik, Lazy Maple Equine Rescue.

Montana was taken to Cavel International, one of three horse slaughterhouses in the United States. Hundreds of horses are brought there each week, and their meat is sold in Europe.

Montana's owners say they had no intention of selling their family pet for meat. Roxanne and Cory Goodon bought Montana when their son was born. When it appeared Montana wasn't a good riding horse they sold her at an auction. The Goodon's say they were told that she would go to a rodeo. But after the sale they tracked down the horse buyer.

"He basically told me your horse will by noon tomorrow and hung up on me," said Cory Goodon.

Late last week, the Goodon's got help from DeKalb police and some local horse lovers to buy back Montana.

"The owners did the right thing by tracking her down and buying her back. And I would like to say if you are going to sell a horse, do not take it to an auction," said Officer Rizda Reese, DeKalb police.

"It is deceptive of these people to be buying up horses for meat and not saying what they are doing with them," said Gail Vacca, National horse protection coalition.

But the general manager at Cavel says that horse sellers should know that slaughterhouse buyers do a lot of their buys at auctions and that their slaughter method is a humane way to dispose of a horse.

"Even if they're selling for a purpose, such as a workhorse or a riding horse, then that person over time may need to put that animal down and bring it to slaughter," said Jim Tucker, Cavel International general manager.

The Goodons admit they may have been naive, but are grateful that their Montana was spared.

"I have tremendous guilt for our part in it where we sold her," said Roxanne Goodon, Montana's owner.

Montana does have some minor injuries and is being treated for a virus. She will be quarantined at a DeKalb farm until she's well enough to travel back to her family.