February 1, 2016 
At first glance, it’s the perfect selfie.
All the key ingredients are there: cute kid, devoted dad and of course the kicker—the spontaneously goofy horse who knows exactly when to pour it on. What more could anyone ever expect out of a selfie? It’s the type of selfie most of us can only dream about. The kind of selfie you read about in US Weekly, but never actually think it could be yours.
The selfie is so good, it won its subjects a tidy little prize. Dad, aka David Bellis, entered the photo in a contest sponsored by Thomson Holidays. Sure enough, it was selected as the winner, and David and his family were rewarded with an all-expenses paid vacation worth £2,000.
Great story, very well, congrats to all and to all a goodnight!
But beware of the selfie monsters, lurking behind every bush, shower curtain and dirty pile of clothes, ready to pounce on your moment and take you down.
See, that horse in the photo is not David’s. It’s just a horse who happened to be hanging out in her pasture alongside a public walking path.
So what?
Well, the horse’s owner, Nicola Mitchell, is none too happy her “Betty” was “exploited” without her permission and is hungry for a heaping slice of justice.
“I was really annoyed to hear he had won a £2,000 holiday and had used a picture of our horse without our permission. He should have asked for our consent,” Mitchell cried. “I didn’t even know that this competition was on. If I had known about it we would have entered it ourselves and could have won as Betty is always sticking out her tongue.”
OH COME ON.
Permission to have your horse be in the background of a photo? This is the road we’ve decided to take?
Added Mitchell, “I will be phoning Thomson Holidays to tell them what has gone on but I don’t know what they will do. But I will tell them I’m not happy.”
OF COURSE you will. And what exactly has ‘gone on’ other than a father, son and a curious horse, all sharing a fun moment together in Selfietown?
Mitchell has even rallied friends and family and organized an online bullying campaign against Bellis, because that’s how some adults choose to allocate their time and energy, apparently.
Do better, humans.
