Metro Animal Care and Control cites horse and carriage business owner a viral video prompted allegations of animal cruelty.
A photo of one of the horses with American Melody Carriages garnered a lot of unwanted attention due to the post's claim that the horse was malnurished.
NewsChannel 5 talked with Melody Robinson, owner of American Melody Carriage, who said the horse may have been slightly underweight but was healthy.
Horse And Carriage Owner Speaks Out Amid Viral Photo
She said MACC met with her Tuesday, and told her that her horses were "well within the regulated weight limit" to pull a carriage for business downtown.
However, on Wednesday, MACC officials two citations for American Melody Carriages for two separate horses both were under Title 8.
- 1 citation written for overworking an underweight animal
- 1 citation written for failure to provide care for an abscess on the foot
She told NewsChannel 5 MACC gave no reason why they changed their stance between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning.
She said no vet was present to disagree or agree with the MACC finding, and the MACC investigators openly admitted Wednesday morning to knowing very little about horses, and they had consulted with someone who didn't see them in person, to arrive at their findings.
As for the citation she received on the horse with a foot injury, she said it's not normal to call a vet out each time a horse gets an abscess or minor injury - she likened it to a child with a cold.
She said she plans to contest the violations.
