Horse Rescuer Dies

Santa Barbara CA News-Press February 11, 2005

Animal rescuer 'Myrt' Starr dies at age 62
By HILDY MEDINA, NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Myrtle "Myrt" Starr, instrumental in bringing one of the country's largest animal cruelty cases to light, died Wednesday in Lompoc. She was 62.

Ms. Starr didn't let cancer keep her from working diligently to ensure that several hundred neglected horses found homes and received proper care.

The gravel-voiced grandmother of three pursued county officials to do something about the more than 400 horses she and a small group concerned citizens say were being neglected by Buellton rancher Slick Gardner.

"If it was not for Myrt speaking out on behalf of the horses, many more would have suffered," said Laura Cleaves, the district attorney's lead investigator in the case. "We all know that she willed her tired body into carrying her soul long enough to see that the task at hand was complete."

The case against Mr. Gardner was the county's costliest and most time-consuming animal welfare probe, stretching nearly 20 months and costing more than $200,000.

Last September, Mr. Gardner was sentenced to one year in jail after he pleaded no contest to animal cruelty and agreed to give up all the horses on his ranch. He has remained free pending an appeal.

Ms. Starr co-founded Wildhorses in Need, a nonprofit group created to help care for some 300 horses the organization took under its wing after authorities removed them from the ranch.

The oldest of three children, Ms. Starr was born in Flagstaff, Ariz. She moved to Lompoc in 1984. For 12 years, she ran the petting zoo at the Alisal Ranch in Solvang. Most of her free time was devoted to rescuing and caring for animals, even during her years as a single mother of three.

"We had sheep in the closets, baby pigs in the oven, we even had a bobcat and a hawk," said her daughter, Susan Mailander. "Everyone was always bringing animals to us that needed a home."

The neglect case came to the attention of county Animal Services in the spring of 2003, when Ms. Starr stumbled upon the horses on the 1,500-acre ranch while searching for a foal she had named Little Man.

"The only way she found out about the horses was because (Mr. Gardner) had promised to give her that horse," said Ms. Mailander. "She trudged up there looking for Little Man and kept finding more and more horses. He should have kept his promise."

Memorial services for Ms. Starr will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Starbuck-Lind Mortuary, 123 N. A St. in Lompoc.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Wildhorses In Need,
P.O. Box 208, Ojai 93024.