Horse seized from neglect
Lacey, WA (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Jan 11, 2007
County: Thurston
Disposition: Not Charged
Case Images: 1 files available
Person of Interest: man
A horse described as a "skeleton with hide" was euthanized Jan 12, a day after the Thurston County Sheriff's Office began investigating his owner for neglect.
The sheriff's office impounded Leo, a 12-year-old bay gelding, after a neighbor reported that the owner was neglecting him and eight other horses on a 10-acre parcel behind the 800 block of Nisqually Park Drive Southeast.
After verifying the horses were neglected by visiting the site, a sheriff's deputy contacted Hooved Animal Rescue of Thurston County, which dispatched a veterinarian to examine the animals, Chief Criminal Deputy Jim Chamberlain said.
Connie Patterson, the organization's co-founder, said there's a standard scale for scoring body weight on horses, with 9, the highest, being obese.
"She (the veterinarian) scored him at 1 or less, if you can get less," she said. "Basically, he's a skeleton with hide on. It's as bad as you can get."
The sheriff's office seized Leo with the owner's consent. The horse was taken to a foster home, where he no longer had the strength to stand, Patterson said. The veterinarian, Sara Perkins, put down Leo after 1 p.m.
The investigation will continue and determine whether there's sufficient cause to charge the 70-year-old owner with animal cruelty, Chamberlain said. The owner told the deputy during an interview that he fed and checked on the horse but didn't realize his condition was that bad, Chamberlain said.
Blood taken from Leo indicated that the horse had been suffering from severe malnourishment and dehydration for some time, and he suffered from an infection, Perkins said.
The eight other horses remain with the owner.
Perkins examined the horses and concluded that all were too thin. She gave the owner specific instructions on the horses' care and will return to evaluate them in two weeks. Photos were taken of the horses to document changes in condition.
"The key is obviously trying to get the remaining horses back into more healthy condition so they don't suffer the same fate," Chamberlain said. References« WA State Animal Cruelty Map
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