Underfed animals seized from home
Okanogan, WA (US)

Incident Date: Tuesday, Dec 30, 2008
County: Okanogan

Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: man

Authorities seized seven horses and two dogs from an Okanogan man's home Tuesday night after a veterinarian reported the animals were underfed, Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers said.

Rogers said he forwarded a report to the Okanogan County Prosecutor asking him to charge the 43-year-old man with seven counts of animal cruelty.

The man was not home when deputies first went to check on the animals at the Dry Coulee Road residence on Sunday, following a complaint they weren't being fed, Rogers said.

The owner hasn't been located, he said.

Two deputies donated hay and dog food and fed the animals until a judge issued a search warrant allowing them to seize the animals Tuesday. Rogers said the horses didn't look extremely thin. "It's not like they were dying."

They looked a little rough. But the vet said it didn't look like they'd eaten for a month," he said.

Volunteers donated use of trailers to help remove the animals Tuesday, he said. They are under the care of one of the volunteers, and the county will have to pay the cost of food and veterinary bills, he said.

Rogers said a warrant for the man's arrest had already been issued for an unrelated misdemeanor.

He said complaints about people not feeding their animals always rise in the winter. "This year, we seem to be getting a lot more horse calls," he said.

References

• « WA State Animal Cruelty Map

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