Race against the tide: Bravery of young mother who stayed by her horse's side for THREE HOURS after getting trapped in mud 'like quicksand'

* Panic as 78-stone show horse is 'swallowed-up' by mud

* Mother freed her daughter and another horse before returning to trapped animal

* Astro was freed just minutes before the tide closed in

This was the terrifying moment a brave young mother battled to keep her beloved horse calm as sea water closed in on the animal after he became trapped in mud 'like quicksand'.

Exhausted and mud-splattered, Nicole Graham clung to her trapped horse Astro for three hours keeping his head high in a race against the tide.

The 78-stone show horse had sunk into quagmire-like mud and was facing the prospect of drowning as the water rose around them.

'Like quicksand': Both Miss Graham and her horse were stuck up to their waists in the mud as the tide was closing in

Desperation: Nicole Graham comforts her 18-year-old show horse Astro after he gets stuck in coastal mud

Swallowed up: Astro was stuck fast and Miss Graham's efforts to pull him free only resulted in herself sinking deeper into the quagmire

Miss Graham had been out on an afternoon ride with her daughter along the coast near Geelong, south of Melbourne, when 18-year-old Astro suddenly sank into the mud.

Before she could shout a warning, the smaller horse her daughter Paris was riding was also partially swallowed up by the mud.

After dragging herself through the mire, Miss Graham helped her daughter and the other horse on to firmer ground.

However, Astro was stuck fast and her efforts to pull him free only resulted in herself sinking deeper into the quagmire.

To the rescue: Vet Stacey Sullivan prepares to sedate Astro in a bid to get him out safely

Tidal terror: The brave mother tries to keep the horse calm as rescuers work how out to free the animal

Emotional: Miss Graham said it was heartbreaking to see her horse so exhausted and struggling

As Paris ran to their car and phoned for help, Miss Graham stayed at her horse’s side. She courageously clung on to his neck, terrified that he would not be freed before the tide came in.

After three 'terrifying' hours, rescuers managed to pull Astro and Miss Graham from the mud.

Miss Graham, who owns more than 10 horses and runs an equine dentistry business, told the Geelong Advertiser how a peaceful afternoon's ride had turned to terror.

She said: ‘It was terrifying. It was also heartbreaking to see my horse exhausted and struggling.

Race against the tide: The water is seen getting closer to the horse as the group battles to free him

Stuck fast: Rescuers look for ways to free the stricken horse as time is slowly running out for him

Pulled free: Astro is dragged from the mud with the aid of a farmer's tractor

‘We went straight down and under. There was mud everywhere and every time I moved it sucked me back down. It wouldn’t let us go.'

After ensuring her daughter and her horse were safe, she returned to Astro and prayed that rescuers would arrive before the tide engulfed the horse.

She added: ‘I’ve been riding here for 20 years and never had a drama. I’ve never seen any signs and didn’t realise it was so boggy.

‘When I saw the dust from the rescue trucks I was so relieved. I was starting to get overwhelmed.’ 

Fire lieutenant Roger Buckle, who was among a team of helpers, said: ‘It was like a quicksand.’

Fire crews worked with a local farmer, who provided a tractor, and a veterinary team. The firemen used hoses and a winch, but none of this equipment was successful.

Sedated and exhausted: Astro collapses on the ground after he is pulled free of the mud, to the relief of rescuers

Saved: Vet Stacey Sullivan helps Astro to his feet as the effects of the sedation wear off

A local helicopter was put on standby as a last resort at pulling Astro from the mud.

The combined rescue effort paid off. With minutes to spare before the water reached him, Astro - who had been sedated by vet Stacey Sullivan - was dragged from the mud with the aid of the farmer’s tractor.

‘It was a race against the tide and fortunately we won,’ said Lieut Buckle, who praised everyone efforts, including those of Miss Sullivan whose work in sedating Astro made it easier to pull him free.

Miss Sullivan said Astro was dehydrated but had coped well.

‘A lot of horses don’t make it and I think without the owner there the chance of survival would have been a lot lower,’ she said.

It's all over: Miss Graham leads her horses away from the beach after the traumatic rescue

Aftermath: Astro and Miss Graham are led to safety after the drama. The vet said the horse may not have made it had it not been for the efforts of his owner

by dailymail.co.uk

HONESTLY THEY LOOK EVIL BY THEIR FACE AND THAT HOUSE LOOK SCARY & HAUNTED. HOW CRUEL THIS WORLD CAN BECOME?? Mother and son jailed for starving dogs and locking them in an attic for weeks

Jamie Taylor and mother Julie ignored the dogs' barks 

He said he was 'embarrassed' that they were skinny so didn't walk them

A mother and son have been jailed after they imprisoned two dogs in an attic and nailed it shut.

Rottweiler Axel and Staffordshire bull terrier Bully were starved and denied water and exercise for weeks before they died in agony, emaciated and dehydrated, a court heard.

Jamie Taylor, 31, and his mother Julie, 50, were each jailed for 16 weeks and disqualified from keeping animals for life after causing 'horrendous suffering' to the pets.

Caged: Julie Taylor and her son Jamie (right) were jailed for 16 weeks for allowing their two dogs to starve to death at their Bradford home

The pair ignored the dogs' barks for help and jobless Jamie refused to walk them because he was 'embarrassed' that they were too skinny.

RSPCA officers tried to rescue the animals but were denied access and when police finally broke into the house in Bradford, West Yorkshire, they found an 'overpowering stench' of rotten flesh and the maggot infested corpses of the dogs in the attic.

Jailing the Taylors, bench chairman Harry Atkinson told them: 'The dogs experienced horrendous suffering before their death.

Rottweiler Axel and Staffordshire bull terrier Bully were starved and denied water and exercise for weeks (file pictures of the two breeds pictured)

'The dogs were prisoners upstairs in the house and they died from prolonged neglect. 

'They had no access to the rest of the house, nor to the outside world.

'Mr Taylor said he would be embarrassed to take his dogs outside because they were too skinny to be seen out walking.'

Both pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the dogs and failing to keep them in a suitable environment.

Jamie also admitted failing to exercise reasonable care and supervision.

Prosecutor for the RSPCA Nigel Monaghan told Bradford Magistrates' Court that the charity organisation had been contacted by members of the public concerned about the care of the Rottweiler and staffy, but when an inspector called at the house Mrs Taylor denied access and claimed her son, the dogs' owner, was not there.

Convicted: The Bradford house where Julie Taylor and her son Jamie locked up their starving dogs

RSPCA inspectors called several times at the house over the following weeks but Mrs Taylor failed to alert them to Bully and Axel's condition, said Mr Monaghan, who apologised to the bench for the graphic nature of the photographs he passed them showing the condition in which the dead dogs were found.

Police kicked down slats nailed to the attic door preventing the dogs escaping, the court heard.

'It is difficult to think of a worse case of animal cruelty than this,' said Mr Monaghan.

'A board of slats was nailed in place to stop the dogs, which were in the attic, from getting out and going down the stairs.'

When RSPCA officers were granted access the decomposing and maggot-ridden bodies of the dogs were found in an attic full of faeces, with plastic sheets instead of bedding, and empty food and water bowls.

A vet concluded they had died from starvation and hydration and had been 'ravenously' hungry and thirsty.

An American bulldog called Buster was living downstairs in the house, which was well fed and exercised - he is now in the care of the RSPCA.

The Taylors claimed Axel and Bully weren't allowed downstairs because Buster fought with them.

Both Taylors, who were each on income support and incapacity benefit, would not take the imprisoned dogs for walks and 'ignored their barks', said Mr Monaghan.

'They thought nothing of the dogs starving to death upstairs.

'Jamie said he couldn't take them out because they were too skinny and he didn't want to be seen taking them out.'

The RSPCA asked for costs of £1,333 to be paid, but because neither Taylor was working the magistrates awarded no costs or fines.

Both Taylors wept as their solicitor Ian Hudson explained Jamie had asked to keep the dogs at his mum's home because his girlfriend didn't like the animals.

But he failed to uphold his promise to feed, water and walk the pets, who he had owned for five years, and she did not enter the nailed-shut attic.

Speaking after the hearing RSPCA inspector Dave Holgate said: 'Walking up the stairs to the attic room, where these dogs had starved to death, the smell was atrocious. I don't know how anyone was able to live at the property. It was indescribable.

'Jamie Taylor and Julie Taylor both knew the dogs were in there. They most likely heard them barking but decided, for whatever reason, not to feed them. When the dogs finally died, they could certainly smell them but left them to rot.'

by dailymail.co.uk

Top Californian wildlife official poses with dead mountain lion... after hunting the big cat was outlawed in state 20 YEARS ago

WHY SHOULD I DIE FOR YOUR PLEASURE??


Daniel Richards, 59, accused of 'defying priorities' by going to Idaho on big game shoot 

The president of the California Fish and Wildlife Commission has caused outrage after posing for photographs clutching a dead mountain lion.

Daniel Richards, 59, is believed to have shot the animal in Idaho, where hunting the big cats is legal.

However in California, the state where he is in charge of wildlife decisions, hunting mountain lions has been banned for two decades.

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Big game: Daniel Richards, president of the Californian Fish and Wildlife Commission, controversially poses with a dead mountain lion which he shot in Idaho where hunting the cats is legal

Legislation in California also makes it illegal to bring the corpses of mountain lions into the state - although it was unclear if Mr Richards had done this. 

The picture came to light after it was posted on the website of Western Outdoor News, the largest hunting and fishing newspaper in California. 

It shows Mr Richards dressed in camouflage, standing in snow-covered woodland, proudly hoisting up the creature which slumps over in his arms.

 

In charge: Daniel Richards was pictured holding a trophy mountain lion - hunting the creature has been illegal for 20 years in his home state of California

Mr Richards, who is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association, assumed the presidency of the Fish and Game Commission in 2008. His term ends next year. 

Californian congressman Jared Huffman told the San Jose Mercury News: 'He’s done something that’s a disgrace to his position and to responsible hunters in California.'

The hunting of mountain lions has been illegal in California since 1990 after proposition 117 was passed. 

The legislation also set aside $30 million of state funding until 2020 to buy up habitat to protect mountain lions and other species.

The non-profit Mountain Lion Foundation, which fought for the law to be passed, has now called for Mr Richards to give up his role.  

On the MLF's website, it stated: 'While technically no laws were broken, California residents are disgusted and calling for Richards' immediate removal from the Commission. 

'Since Richards proudly and openly defies the priorities of the people he was appointed to represent, clearly he can't be trusted and he needs to go.'

Cookie escapes death by a whisker: Cat has pellet lodged in his brain after being blasted with an airgun

WHAT PLEASURE DID U FEEL IN HURTING ME?? 

Vets cannot remove it without causing brain damage

Cookie has been on a cocktail of drugs since last week

SSPCA calls for total ban on airguns in Scotland

Cookie the cat is lucky to be alive today after a callous thug shot him right between the eyes and left a pellet lodged deep in his brain.

The nine-month old cat staggered into owner Helen Connelly's home in Uddingston, South Lanarkshire, with blood pouring from his nose after the attack.

Ms Connelly, 42, rushed him to the vet, where X-rays revealed an airgun pellet lodged in his skull directly between his eyes.

How many lives left? Cookie the cat, from Uddingston, South Lanarkshire, who has escaped death by a whisker after he was shot right between the eyes

Inoperable. This X-ray shows the location of the pellet lodged in Cookie's brain. Vets say they cannot remove it without a serious risk of killing him

Tragically, it cannot be removed, vets say, because the invasive surgery could damage Cookie's brain and lead to his death.

Ms Connelly said today: 'It makes me sick. Whoever did this clearly needs some help, Cookie is just a defenceless cat.

'These guns should be banned and the person who has done this should be sent to jail. It is a despicable crime'

When Cookie came home with his injury, Mr Connelly first thought he had been fighting with another cat.

But on closer inspection she saw the wound was more serious and contacted the emergency vet.

Since the attack last Monday, Cookie has been on a cocktail of painkillers, anti-inflammatories and penicillin, and his vet's bill has so far reached £300.

Ms Connelly said: 'They might not be able to remove the pellet as it could be too near to his brain.

'He is eating okay just now and getting around alright, but he is on a lot of medication.'

'The last check-up showed the pellet in the skull but it isn't causing him any problem. We will have to go back in and get more X-rays to see exactly where the pellet is in the future.'

'It makes me sick': Owner Helen Connelly cuddles her injured cat. Vets bills have already reached £300 and more treatment is needed

Mike Flynn, the Scottish SPCA Chief Superintendent, said animals like cats are the 'most common target' of malicious airgun attacks.

He added: 'This incident is another sickening example of a defenceless animal being injured as a result of airgun misuse and goes to highlight the need for a total ban on airguns in Scotland.'

Inspector Stewart Hurry, of Strathclyde Police, said: 'These are cruel and dangerous actions by the person firing a weapon of this type in a public place.

'I am horrified that anyone would injure any animal in this way and we are keen to identify the individual who may be responsible.

'This is totally unacceptable behaviour and we will what we can to find out whoever is responsible and take whatever action is necessary.'