1 horse euthanized, 2 recovering after dramatic rescue

HIALEAH GARDENS, Fla. (WSVN) -- One of three horses found stuck in ditches and wandering the streets of a rural area of Southwest Miami-Dade had to be put down, while the other two continue their recovery.

Rescuers saved two of the weak and malnourished animals from ditches and found a third wandering loose nearby on Friday afternoon. It still remains unclear how the horses ended up loose and alone on the streets.

Vets at the South Florida Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals had to euthanize one of the horses after it was having trouble standing. The SPCA continues to work around the clock, trying to nurse the surviving horses back to health.

The group will also help find them a new home after they become healthy enough to leave. "Please, if anyone out there is willing to take a horse, either for pleasure riding or just as a companion for another horse, please step forward now," Jeanette Jordan said.

The horses are now resting in their new temporary home in Hialeah after a dramatic rescue in Southwest Miami-Dade Friday. The horses are old, frail and are several hundred pounds under weight. "They're all skin and bones. They've been obviously starving for a very long time," Jordan said.

Two of the abandoned animals were found stuck in ditches near Southwest 168th Street and 199th Avenue. A driver spotted one of the horses and called for help. "I was driving down the road, and I saw a horse's head sticking out, eating grass about two feet off the ground," Felicia Perez said.

Miami-Dade Fire and technical rescue units arrived on the scene and found a second horse in a ditch about 40 feet away from the first horse. The crews strapped harnesses around the animals, and then used a tractor to pull them out.

Later on, a third horse was found wandering around, also in bad shape.

The South Florida SPCA are also asking for donations to care for these animals.

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