Former abused horse now works for Livingston police

Officer Lobo had a proud bounce in his step and a shiny badge around his neck as he moved Friday morning through the streets of Livingston.

But the 15-year-old horse, who’s part of the Livingston Police Department’s first mounted patrol, wasn’t always so fortunate. Just a few years ago, Lobo was the victim of severe animal abuse and neglect at a Livermore boarding facility. He was awfully underweight and living in deplorable conditions.

“He was extremely skinny, tied up in a small stall with mud all over him and he was beaten by children,” said Livingston Police Officer Joe Cruz. “His tongue was maimed by a wire bit and the top of his nose has a dent because his halter shrank.”

Lobo was discovered in 2010 by a Livermore-based horse rescuer who took him in. Cruz, who was an officer at the Oakdale Police Department at the time, spotted Lobo on a hill while driving through Livermore one day. He began visiting the horse regularly and paying for his treatment.

Three months later, the rescued horse became a permanent part of Cruz’s family. Before long, Cruz adopted another abandoned horse from the same rescue facility, 12-year-old Moe, the second new addition to the Livingston Police Department.

It takes a special kind of horse to become a law enforcement officer, Cruz said. The horses must have a calm temperament to tolerate loud sounds, walking into crowds and approaching dangerous situations or suspects.

“I started riding Lobo and he turned out to be a good horse,” Cruz told the Merced Sun-Star. Seeing a special gift in the mistreated horse, Cruz got Lobo his first police job at the Oakdale Police Department. “He’s very calm, and he doesn’t spook with loud noises when big trucks go by him.”

It didn’t take very long for Lobo to begin protecting his fellow police officers and the public. When Cruz became dizzy and fell backward while riding Lobo on patrol in Oakdale in 2011, the horse repaid his rescuer.

Lobo pulled close to Moe and the two horses rode together – inches apart – holding Cruz until they got to a shady area. Lobo kept his muzzle pressed to Cruz’s cheek while firefighters and paramedics administered first aid.

Lobo and Moe completed training at the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Mounted Patrol School, paid for by Cruz. Now they are a permanent part of the Livingston Police Department, with Cruz paying for the two horses’ food, boarding and veterinarian costs. The cost to taxpayers is only $2 per year.

Police Chief Ruben Chavez said numerous police departments have eliminated mounted patrols because of budget cuts. During his career with the San Jose Police Department, Chavez was part of that agency’s first mounted patrol in 1986, which he said has since been dissolved.

Chavez said four or five Livingston officers will be trained to ride Lobo and Moe. The horses will hit the streets weekly to help with patrol, assist in traffic stops and look for illegal marijuana grows.

But the horses provide a service beyond protection and safety. “Horses are really good with the public and attract families and crowds,” Chavez said. “It’s a great resource for us to interact with the public. People want to pet them and take a picture.”

Lobo and Moe have made the rounds at the Annual Sweetpotato Festival and other local events, but they also traveled nearly 100 miles to Roseville earlier this month to take part in the memorial for a Sacramento County sheriff’s deputy killed in the line of duty.

Cruz said Lobo was also the recipient of a Jefferson Award in 2011 to commemorate outstanding public service, garnering attention from San Francisco media agencies. Cruz said Lobo’s story – going from an abused horse to a decorated police hero – shows that anything is achievable with hard work.

“It’s proof that rehabilitation is possible,” Cruz said.

This story was originally published November 7, 2014 at 7:32 PM with the headline "Former abused horse now works for Livingston police."