We’ve checked Ben’s tattoo and discovered that he is a 2004 gelding named Babe Hoolihan, bred in Washington state, and raced twice as a three year old. (He came in dead last in both races, so obviously horse racing didn’t suit him.) In 2009, he was rescued from an abusive situation in South Pierce County in which he was being beaten and starved. He was rehomed shortly thereafter to an individual who promised to care for him and get him some much needed training, but by early 2010, he’d been given away to an 11 year old who wanted to ride him over fences. Given that he was only track-broke, this is a little hard to fathom, and apparently the new home had issues with him being too hot. We don’t know what happened to him after that, until he turned up in Animal Control’s custody in August 2014. We are very sad for Ben, but we’re promising him that life is going to get much better from here on out.