Horse neglect
Bend, OR (US)

Incident Date: Friday, Jun 26, 2009
County: Deschutes

Disposition: Convicted

Defendant/Suspect: Shelley Wilder

Shelley Wilder has been found guilty of animal abuse in the first degree. Prosecutor Brigid Turner presented this case to a Deschutes County jury last week. The Jury returned a guilty verdict on both counts on Monday, November 2. The facts are as follows:

On 6/26/09, Shelley May Wilder, 59720 Navajo Rd. in Bend, was cited for two counts of first degree Animal Neglect. On 6/25/09, a year-old colt belonging to Shelley Wilder was found standing in the middle of the road in the neighborhood near Wilder's residence in Deschutes River Woods.

The horse was extremely weak, having difficulty walking and standing due to his emaciated condition. In addition, the colt had numerous large and small tears in the flesh of his legs and belly indicating that he had been attacked by something.

A Deschutes County Sheriff's Office deputy and a Deschutes County Community Service Officer responded to investigate. The investigation revealed that Shelley Wilder also had a second year-old filly at her residence that was even more emaciated than the colt. The filly had both large and small wounds on it's neck, legs, and body where it had also been attacked.

Further investigation revealed that both horses had other, older wounds in various stages of healing on their bodies indicating that this was not the first time these starved animals had been savaged.

Shelley Wilder offered the information to the investigators that they may have been attacked by her Great Dane. A local veterinarian examined the horses and discovered that both horses were badly emaciated as a result of starvation.

Both horses were seized by the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office and Wilder was cited on two counts of Animal Neglect in the First Degree. A jury deliberated over the evidence in this case last evening, and rendered a verdict of guilty on both counts. Wilder will be sentenced on these charges on 11/10/09.

Wilder was convicted of harassment in June and sentenced in 2006 for refusing a breath test, and also has faced a misdemeanor charge of driving with a suspended license, court records show.

References

• KTVZ - Nov 3, 2009

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