NEW ORLEANS — The brutal New Orleans heat can get to all of us, even our four-legged friends.
It's happening to an Orleans Parish Sheriff's horse, who had to see a vet Tuesday because of the temperatures.
Officer Francis is 25 years old, and has stories to tell. Commander Reginald Moses with the Orleans Parish Sheriff's mounted unit told Eyewitness News, "She has been here for a very long time, she's seen a lot of tailbones, she's trained a lot of riders... She's well worth our time, she's one of the oldest we have, and has been a very good asset to the agency."
A legacy horse to the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office, Commander Moses said, "Currently Sheriff Hutson has ridden her, Mayor Cantrell has ridden her, Councilwoman Helena Moreno has ridden her over the years."
Even though the horses aren’t walking the beat when temperatures hit higher than 90 degrees, this old gal is feeling the excessive heat.
If it's hot for you and I to be walking around in this heat, imagine being an 1800 pound horse. Francis here has to drink five gallons of water a day to keep hydrated.
Veterinarian, Dr. David McCoy says due to the heat, Francis is having trouble going to the bathroom. Dr. McCoy said, "Right now Francis, for a lack of better terms is a little colicky, colic means abominable pain."
He went on to say, "Sometimes we see it in really cold weather because they don't want to drink and the water gets frozen, we see it in hot weather because it's not comfortable, it's a change in weather the horse forgets to eat."
He says he gave her some medicine, and will keep an eye on her. "We're trying to monitor to see if she gets more painful it would suggest it's a more serious condition something that might even require surgery or if the animal had something was so bad it would have to be put to sleep."
Commander Moses met Francis nearly 15 years ago, so he says he knew something was wrong, saying, "You could tell she wasn't herself, she was kinda standing still, head hanging low, so I got her out to the hosing area and she came up with the evening breeze and it woke her up a little bit and walked her around."
He says his lady Francis, holds a very special place in his heart, "She trained me, she was one of the first I touched when I got in the unit, some time ago so she means a lot."
Now all she needs to do is use the little pony's room and she should be back to normal.
A reminder to all pet owners, keep your pets water bowls filled with fresh water. Dog owners, do not walk your pet in the heat, and keep them inside during the heat of the day.
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