Animal rescue leader Wade and crew battle neglect and abuse

Story and Photos by COLIN MURPHEY
The people fighting for the welfare of animals in St. Mary Parish and the rest of Louisiana have, unfortunately, been busy lately. But, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing according to the men and women who rescue animals that are being neglected.
It means not only is awareness up among the population to report negligence and that the behavior will not be tolerated, it also means law enforcement is becoming more supportive of rescue efforts and more animals are making their way out of bad situations into better homes all across the state.
And the effort is being led by Jeanerette's Toney Wade and friends. Wade has been rescuing animals from neglectful owners for 25 years all across the state of Louisiana. And for his trouble he has been harassed, assaulted and even shot at during rescue operations.
But for Wade and his network of Samaritans, it’s all in a day’s work of protecting those that cannot protect themselves.
“So far this year we’ve seized over one hundred horses since January,” Wade said. “And that’s just horses. That’s not counting all the cats and dogs and other animals that we have rescued. It’s a big problem, but the word is getting out. We have tremendous support from many law enforcement agencies in the area. People are starting to be made aware of the problem.”
The Banner-Tribune recently accompanied Wade on a rescue mission near Baldwin to take possession of two horses that were identified as being in a state of neglect. Wade had been working on getting the animals out of their neglectful state for over a year. This last week….it was time.
Assisted by Khouri Frisch of the KB Ranch in Opelousas, Wade arrived at the location to find the horses tied up and without shelter or fresh water to drink. The owner (who shall remain anonymous due to an ongoing investigation) released the animals without confrontation and they were loaded up on a trailer for the trip to the ranch.
According to Frisch and Wade, there the animals will have shelter from the elements, veterinary care, fresh water, plenty of space to roam and plenty of food. Wade said the horses seized last week have an almost 100 percent chance of making a full recovery.
“They are good to go now,” Wade said. “They will get some good groceries in their belly tonight. They won’t be out in the sun. They will have stalls. They will have clean water and get a good bath. This went really well. I enjoy my job.”
The case was a success according to Wade. It isn’t always so.
Last week, Wade said he arrived on the scene of another rescue attempt only to find two animals so badly emaciated they had to be lifted into the trailer as they could not walk on their own power. The two horses had to be euthanized later. Wade said it was one of the worst cases he had ever seen. But he said he tries to recover from those types of losses and focus on the next case because, as he said, there are more animals out there that need help.
As far as what the general public can do if they suspect a case of abuse or neglect, Wade had this advice.
“First thing I’d recommend they do is call the local police department,” Wade said. “If they can’t get anything done, they are welcome to call me. I work with most of the agencies in the state and if there is an issue we will work on it and try to get it resolved as quickly as possible and get the animals out of that situation and into a situation they need to be in. If anyone thinks there is a cruelty situation going on, they can call me. 985-253-1436 to report it. We will actively investigate and do what we gotta do.”