She was alive, but barely.

Bones jutted beneath the young horse's brown skin.

"I was in shock," said Katie Kotz. "It's hard to believe someone would let an animal get to that point."

An anonymous caller alerted the Dubuque Regional Humane Society about the horse that was starving to death just outside of Dubuque County.

"The horse was in a very emaciated condition, so we felt the best thing we could do was remove her from the property," said Jane McCall, humane society president.

The owners of the horse surrendered her on Sept. 17. A few days later, she was transported to the Kotz farm. Kevin and Janell Kotz, Katie Kotz's parents, will act as the horse's foster parents. The horse, estimated to be 4 or 5 years old, had no name.

It was obvious the horse would need lots of love to become healthy. The Kotz family named her Lola, which stands for lots of love always.

"She'll make a great horse," said Katie Kotz, equine specialist for Three Rivers Town and Country in Epworth, Iowa. "She's got

help for lola
To make a tax-deductible donation to contribute to Lola's care, contact Jane McCall at 563-584-1925, send a donation to the Dubuque Regional Humane Society, 175 N. Crescent Ridge, Dubuque, Iowa, 52003, or visit dbqhumane.org.

a great attitude. She's feisty."

Lola is on a strict feeding regimen of hay and equine senior grain, which was donated by Purina. Kotz said Lola's digestive system is so bad right now that the only grain she can eat is for older horses.

Lola has a body condition score of 1 on a scale of 1 to 9. The goal is to get her to 5, which is considered healthy. "It's just a long, slow process, but she'll get there," Kotz said.

Some people have given Lola treats when they see her at the farm along Seippel Road. Those little treats could shock Lola's system and cause the horse to get sick.

"Please don't give into those big brown eyes and give her a treat," Kotz said. "It's not good for her now."

Lola isn't the only neglected horse in the area. "We're really concerned because we had a number of calls on neglected horses in September," McCall said.

The society has received four horse-neglect calls the past two weeks. No other horses have been taken from their owners.

McCall said horses are usually healthy this time of year because of summer. She's worried it could be a really bad winter for horses.

"It's the economy," McCall said. "People don't realize how much it costs to keep a horse."

The humane society receives about 35 neglect calls about horses a year, which is one of the reasons McCall said it needs more space.

The humane society has an option to purchase 13.5 acres behind the Star Cinema by Dec. 1. It still has to raise $109,000 to purchase the land, which will have adequate space for a small barn to house neglected livestock.

Lola's previous owners have not been charged with animal neglect.