Nine horses found dead
Weatherford, TX (US)Incident Date: Friday, Aug 12, 2011
County: Parker
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 4 files available
Alleged:
» Linda Kay Pharis
» Keith Hall
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
An arrest warrant has been issued for the caretaker of nine horses found Friday without water or food just outside Weatherford city limits.
Eight horses were reportedly found dead throughout the property in the 400 block of Old Brock Road, including one found hanging on a fence separating the animal from a pool, and another subsequently euthanized due to severe dehydration.
Caretaker Linda Kay Pharis, 54, has been charged with cruelty to livestock animals, a class A misdemeanor, but had not been arrested as of Monday afternoon because she went into a hospital on Saturday.
The veterinarian believed the horses had been without water for at least eight to 10 days, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
Two troughs that were accessible to the horses were found empty and dry, according to the sheriff's office. The automatic well appeared to be in working condition, but had not brought up water, according to Fowler.
A neighbor called the sheriff's office, according to Fowler.
The horses' owner lives in the state only part of the year, according to Fowler.
Pharis reportedly told the animal control officer Friday, she checked on the horses late Aug. 9, and arrived Friday and found the horses dead, according to the arrest affidavit.
It was the first time the sheriff's office responded to the residence on an animal-related call, according to Fowler.
The animal euthanized Friday was the 20th horse to die from lack of water in the past two years in Parker County, often termed the cutting horse capital.
In July 2009, 11 horses - 10 dead and one later euthanized - were found in a similar situation in northeast Parker County when an automatic well stopped working.
When Parker County animal control officers arrived to investigate, 10 horses were found dead, one horse had to be euthanized and 29 others were treated for dehydration.
"This is a very serious matter," he said. "Parker County is known as the cutting horse capital of the world."
Fowler said he also plans to file a civil lawsuit to recover the county's money used in the case for costs such as disposing the animals, and services by a veterinarian and animal control officers.
Case UpdatesA 76-year-old Parker County man was arrested Friday night in the deaths of nine horses found without food or water last week.
Keith Hall was in the Parker County Jail facing a charge of cruelty to livestock animals, a Class A misdemeanor.
Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler said deputies arrested Hall without incident.
"The treatment of these horses was unconscionable," Fowler said shortly after the arrest.
"After completing the investigation and after consulting with the prosecutor, we felt there was able evidence to support this charge."
Late Friday, law enforcement personnel were executing a search warrant at the Parker County property.
On Aug. 12, deputies and animal control officers found six mares, one gelding and one filly dead about noon Friday in a field in the 400 block of Old Brock Road. One gelding was found alive but was euthanized later because of "severe debilitation and organ failure."
A veterinarian said the horses had been without water for days. One horse was found dead on a fence with a swimming pool 30 yards away. The horse apparently died trying to get to the pool, authorities said.
Fowler has been vocal in his anger over the deaths.
"It would've been kinder to go out and shoot them between the eyes," he said.
"They're defenseless creatures. They can't care for themselves."
Animal cruelty charges were filed this week against Linda Kay Pharis, 53, who was hired by Hall to care for the horses. Hall was believed to be in Arizona at the time.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Pharis found the horses dead Aug. 12. She said she had last checked them Aug. 9.
Pharis told authorities that she had told Hall several weeks earlier that the "horses were looking bad and wanted to give them hay, but the suspected party said no, they will be ok until he returned in a week."
According to the affidavit, Pharis called Hall on Aug. 9 and left a message saying she "did not care if he got [mad], I was giving the horses some hay."
After the horses were found dead, investigators said their water troughs were "empty and dry." They noted that there had been no rain and that temperatures had been in the triple digits, resulting in severe drought conditions.
The field where the horses were kept was in poor condition, and there was inadequate vegetation, the affidavit said.
According to the affidavit, Hall gave the horses hay only during the winter and expected them to graze in the pasture the other months. Dr. Dene Herbel, a veterinarian asked to investigate, said most of the horses had been dead one to three days.
"It is my opinion that the nutritional deficiency and lack of water led to the death of these animals," Herbel told investigators. | Source: star-telegram.com - Aug 19, 2011
Update posted on Aug 20, 2011 - 11:58PM |
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