Our View: Cam: too precious to lose

Some stories tug at the heartstrings simply because of the subject matter. And others can do so by virtue of how they are written.

Star staffer Val Van Meter’s story about Cam the painted pony, published Tuesday, falls into both categories.

As many Star readers already know, Cam, once wantonly abused and malnourished, is now living large — or larger — under the TLC of Winchester Sheriff’s Deputy Erin Brogan and her husband. He is pretty much healthy and happy, save for the fact that if he does not have one more operation — to pull two teeth that have fractured below the gum line — he will, more than likely, have to be put down. The problem: It’s a delicate and rather unusual procedure that costs significant money — $3,800, to be exact.

Simply put, considering all Cam’s been through already — in addition to the malnutrition: severe lice, rain rot, and other teeth so badly infected that abnormal cavities filled his head simply to hold the pus — it would be a shame to lose him one procedure short of a complete and amazing recovery.

But the organization — Shenandoah Horse Rescue — that fostered Cam and other horses seized from a local farm in 2011 and picked up the $6,000 tab to have six of Cam’s infected teeth removed, has dissolved. So Ms. Brogan, who’s pledged to give the pony the care he needs once he has the surgery, has extended a plea to local animal lovers to help offset the cost of the procedure.

It’s pretty unusual for this page to join such efforts, but, as we said, Cam pulled at our heartstrings. We’re not asking animal enthusiasts to open their wallets as much as we’re hoping they will do so. Cam just seems too precious to lose.