Recovered EQUINE My Fair Lady,

From: Sherri Leonard
To: acknetpossevol@aol.com; idahonc@aol.com
Sent: Fri, 29 Feb 2008 9:25 am
Subject: Lily is home!

Good News!! Lily is back with us and she looks wonderful, healthy, sound and beautiful. I wanted to let all of you know that even what seems like an impossible task can be accomplished with the help of many, determination, and most of all prayers. I give all the glory to God as He guided me to reach out to all of you, and you in turn opened doors and pointed me in the right direction. You will never know how much your support and help has meant to myself and my daughter. At times we were afraid, discouraged, overwhelmed, but each time I was about to throw up my hands and walk away, there would be a phone call or an email that kept me going. I take away from this that when we reach out to help another, even if we think we are doing such a small insignificant thing as a word of encouragement, it might just be enough to help someone take the next step.

Never underestimate the power each of us holds to support and help another. I could not have done this alone. Some of you I know personally, but the majority of you don't know me or I you. Yet, you took the time and energy to send your support. That warms my heart to know there are so many good, kind people in the world. We all live busy lives, with our own set of obstacles and challenges to face. Thank you all for helping me.

A group that is dedicated to helping recover missing and stolen horses was a God send to me. NetPosse.com, is an organization made of dedicated volunteers who spend their time helping people find and recover their horses. Many of you may know about their fine work, but if you don't I encourage you to find out more about them. I found out that [often] law enforcement and the court systems do not want to be bothered with missing or stolen horses. … Another resource we have in Georgia is the Georgia State Agriculture Equine Division. They were a great help as well.

Thank you all again from the bottom of my heart. With your help we have our Lily back.

Blessings,

Sherri, Lindsey & Lily

From: Sherri Leonard
To: acknetpossevol@aol.com
Sent: Mon, 3 Mar 2008 10:16 am
Subject: RE: update on Lily

We were able to get the name and number of the horse trader that Lily was taken to by the trainer with the help of the Ga. State Equine Division that went to the stable and investigated the disappearance of Lily. Lily had been taken to Mount Olive North Carolina, 500 miles from Atlanta to a horse trader who moves horses in and out of his establishment quickly and documents on ownership are not a requirement to do business with him.

With his name and number in hand I called him to inquire about Lily. He admitted that Lily had been brought to him and he had traded three other horses in exchange for her. He had since sold her but just couldn't remember who he sold her to. He doesn't keep records. I then did a massive email to stables, farriers and vets in the Mount Olive area asking if anyone knew of this individual. I received many emails back telling me that he was not a man of reputable character. He dealt in "shady" deals regularly and was in business with big horse auctions in other states. This was alarming news as I had visions of Lily being hauled off to some big auction in another state and the chances of finding her would be so difficult.

I had already filed a report with the Sheriff's office but no action was ever taken. I then filed a criminal warrant with the magistrates court but heard back that the judge did not consider this a criminal matter and I would need to file it in Civil Court. The clock was ticking and for all I knew Lily was moving farther and farther away.

In the meantime NetPosse had her flyers circulating and posted Lily on their website. I sent the flyers to the large group of horse people in Georgia and North Carolina that I had accumulated over the past month. I decided working with the police or courts system was futile and would take too long. I made an appointment to meet with a local attorney who was recommended, for a free consultation, just to present my case to him and see what he might suggest. At this point I felt I was running out of options. I met with the attorney on Feb. 21st, and after a lengthy session he understood that my main concern was in finding Lily and finding her fast. He offered to call the horse trader right there and then and see what he could work out. To my amazement, the attorney, had a very pleasant conversation with the horse trader and by the end of the conversation the horse trader agreed that he would find Lily, of course for a fee. The agreement was that he could get Lily back for $2,000 plus $200. for the horse traders time and trouble. The attorney only charged me a nominal fee. I left his office and now had to wait and see if this would actually happen. This was our best chance to date.

On Feb. 25th (Monday), I received a phone call that evening from the horse trader saying he had located Lily and could get her back if we were serious. He hadn't been able to get a hold of the attorney. I said we were absolutely sure we wanted her back and he was to go ahead and get her back and we would contact the attorney and have the attorney call him to make the financial arrangements.

Tuesday morning was a series of phone calls, emails, faxes but by mid morning everything was in place and the horse trader was on his way to bring Lily back to his place. Now my daughter and I had to make arrangements for a hauler and leave for Mount Olive N.C. asap. By 4pm that day I had booked a hauler and we were all leaving that evening to start the 500 mile drive.

Wednesday morning at 11am we all pulled into the horse traders place and he took us to the stall that held Lily. There she was! It was really her!! She looked beautiful, and healthy. I had the horse trader sign an official bill of sale, got the coggins he had been given by the trainer, loaded Lily up and left his place by noon. We drove back to Georgia and arrived at Lily's forever home around 6pm. She made the trip well and my daughter and I couldn't have been happier. Exhausted but happy.

I hope my story will help others in that you must be very careful when selling or leasing. If the sale or lease goes bad, you will not have any help from law enforcement or the court system. It is considered a Civil Matter and at best you may get some or all of your money back but not your horse. Know that every state has an Agriculture Division and I had help from Georgia and N.C., but you have to actively contact them and keep contacting. The NetPosse group is invaluable in getting the word out with flyers and their website. But even with all of that there is no guarantee that you will ever see your horse again. Be very, very cautious in whom you do business with and don't let your horse out of your sight. The horse thieves of this world know that law enforcement and the courts will not go after them and it will cost too much for most people to pursue legally. I am so thankful that ours was a happy ending.

Thanks to NetPosse, who are doing a wonderful job educating the horse community, there can be more happy endings and hopefully fewer and fewer "missing and stolen" horses.

Sherri