Hot Shot

Hot Shot  (ASR) Entry for Animal Cruelty/Domestic Violence Contest #2108531 by Chris Breva

1,318 words

(I'm telling this story as if I am the main character, which I am not. I was actually the witness standing back in the brush. The story however is true. The main character is my cousin. The names have been changed.)

One September day in my teens, I was out squirrel hunting. I didn't particularly get a big thrill out of killing a squirrel but when you are a member of a big family you get food wherever you can obtain it.

One day I came upon a scene that sent chills down my spine and fired anger into my brain. A man who ran a local logging company used horses to pull his logs out of the woods. Many small business owners were simply too poor to afford equipment and horses were much cheaper than bulldozers or other equipment. So I didn't object to them working the horses. What I did object to however was abusing the horses. Apparently the horses hadn't performed up to his satisfaction that day and he was trying to force them to perform better. Therefore he was using a device that I never did believe in and never will use. He was using a cattle prod, also known as a "hot shot". It is a device that you press against the animal and squeeze a trigger releasing a strong electrical shock. He was repeatedly using the hot shot on first one horse and then the other as his brother held the horses in place by their bridles. The worst part was that a third person, the son of one of the two men was dumping buckets of water over the team, making sure the electric shock would have good conduction. They were standing in the middle of a creek doing all of this. Well, I am not one who believes violence ever solves anything but this scene made my very blood boil and my skin crawl. To say I was livid would be a gross understatement. I had a nuclear meltdown that made Three Mile Island look like a tea kettle boiling over. So I decided it was time to teach these idiots a lesson.

I spoke up, letting them know I was there as I stepped out of the brush. Then I asked them what on Earth they thought they were doing? They foreman said "These horses are useless today so we're putting a little fire into them."

"You're putting fire into them by torturing them. Is that it," I asked.

"No," said Tom, the foreman. "Tom and I have handled our horses this way for years. The hot shot doesn't hurt them. It only mildly shocks them and puts some spirit into them."

"I'm aware of your hot shots," I replied. "They actually disperse a charge of 120 volts. So I'll tell you what I want you to do. I want you to lay your hot shot on the bank there and roll around in the water getting yourselves good and wet. Then I want you to use the hot shot on each other four times each, rolling around in the water again before each shot."

"And how are you going to make us do that", Tim, the foreman's brother asked.

"Well if you don't do it you're going to have severe lead poisoning," I answered as I cocked and raised my shotgun, pointing it at them.

"You won't do that", Little Tom, the foreman's son stated.

"Are you willing to call my bluff." I asked. "If you are I'll shoot you and call the coroner myself. They'll probably pin a medal on me anyway."

"I hate to say it," the foreman said as he knelt down into the water, "but I know this kid and he's as crazy as a loon. If he says he'll shoot, you can bet he plans to shoot. I also know that he's an expert sharpshooter and won't miss. I'll take my chances with the hot shot!"

"The hot shot will electrocute us," Tim exclaimed. "My God it could kill us!"

"It might," I said. "However I'm carrying a Remington 12 gauge three inch magnum pump with seven rounds in it. I'm standing 15 feet away on a steep bank above you. From here it would be like shooting ducks in a pond and I guarantee you this magnum will blow a hole through you that your horses could walk through. So the hot shot is your only hope. And by the way, I'm also taking your horses, tack and all. My dad will pay you for them."

Tom rolled around in the water and then stood up, asking Tim to shock him with the hot shot. "I can't," Tim said.

"My God," Tom answered. "You don't have a choice. He'll kill us if we don't."

Tim used the hot shot on Tom as commanded and Tom screamed as the shock hit him.

"How does that feel," I asked. "Did you like it. Well neither does your team! Now Tim you lay in the water and take your medicine. Little Tom, I'll let you off the hook because you're only following the orders of these two bullies."

I didn't force any of them to take more than one shock because I wasn't as cruel as they were. I simply wanted to punish them and telling them I was going to force them to administer more than one shock was part of my tactic. After the two brothers had completed their shocking task I forced them to smash the hot shot with a sledge hammer and send the team of horses up over the hill to me. The horses gladly climbed the bank and I caught one of them at the top. Since the tack was a double tack catching one caught them both.

"Tell your dad I want $500.00 each for them horses," Tom called out.

"They're worth about $200.00 each," I answered. "I'll ask him to give you $500.00 total."

I took the horses to my house, which was about four miles away. I rode one of them most of the way and it went on to become my pony. Of course my parents were shocked when I rode up with a team of horses and even more flabbergasted when I told them where the horses came from. My dad nearly had a coronary when I told him I had spoken in his behalf and bought the team, tack and all for $500.00. However under the circumstances he said I had done the right thing. My parents were initially concerned that the brothers would have me arrested for assault or something for forcing them to use the hot shot on each other. However they also doubted that part of my story, though they knew the brothers in question had a reputation for being cruel to horses. My story was confirmed later on however when my uncle called. Apparently one of the brothers had complained to him about my behavior. My uncle had told them to count themselves fortunate because I could have shot them. If II didn't, my cousin who was hunting nearby and witnessed the whole incident could have! My uncle also told them they were more than welcome to use his phone to call the sheriff if they wished and the sheriff would definitely arrest me. However my cousin and I would both testify that they had been mistreating their horses and they would be in the same cell I was but for much longer! Therefore my parents breathed a deep sigh of relief. "You did the right thing by protecting the horses," my dad told me. "However I hope you realize it's going to take me several months to pay for them. I'll be paying for them with your allowance. And son, the next time you want to bring an animal home, do us all a favor. Find a stray dog or rescue a bag of drowning kittens!"

Second Place - Animal Cruelty/Domestic Violence Contest - January 2017