Five former police horses move on to greener pastures
August 2, 2009 - Boston Globe - By Christine Legere
PLYMOUTH - Five powerful draft horses, accustomed to pounding city streets for 40 hours a week as members of Boston’s historic Mounted Patrol, are now enjoying an indefinite stay at the Plymouth County Farm. And so far, all of these magnificent animals are adjusting nicely to their significant change in lifestyle.
Captain Dan Callahan, who heads up the Plymouth County sheriff’s mounted unit and manages the stables at the county farm, brought Camden, Clancy, Pelli, and Shorty from their longtime Jamaica Plain home to Plymouth shortly after Boston’s Mounted Patrol took its final ride at the turn of the fiscal year, snapping a 140-year-old tradition. The fifth, Chopper, arrived just last week.
Boston Police Officer James Naughton, who works in the Mounted Patrol and K-9 units, said the five horses, along with the other seven members of the Mounted Patrol, were stalwarts of crowd control in the city. “They’ve all been part of the Democratic National Convention, and victory parades for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Celtics,’’ he said.
When he helped Callahan load the four mounts into trailers bound for Plymouth, he said, “it was a sad parting.’’
