From The Sheriff’s Desk

Animal cruelty is one of the most despicable crimes that I can think of. It is also a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state penitentiary for a period of 5 years. This past week The Sheriff’s Office was involved in a case involving a number of horses and it made me think that sometimes people don’t take their individual responsibilities seriously enough. Animal cruelty is one of the more difficult crimes to work on because of the rights of the property owner and the proof is somewhat hard to get your hands around sometimes. We get calls at the Sheriff’s Office about cows or horses on an almost bi-weekly basis from people who believe that an animal is being abused or neglected. We respond to all these calls. In most cases we find that the animals are being taken care of but the animal has an illness or injury that has drawn them down. In some cases though, we do find outright neglect and cruelty. In those cases we aggressively pursue prosecution.

Animals are like people, they get sick and they get old. In either case they need to be cared for. One of the first things we look at when we go out on a cruelty call is the condition of the pasture or enclosure (is it muddy and filled with manure or dry and clean); Is there any grass or has the area been grazed off? Is there hay available? Is there water (and if there is, is it clean or stagnant)? Is there shelter or trees? If there are trees, has the bark been eaten off (a sign of starvation)? Are there multiple animals? How do they look as a heard? (If there are 4 or 5 horses and one is in poor condition the probability is that there is no mistreatment, that one horse may be ill or old) I once knew a gentleman who had a 44 year old horse with no teeth. Twice a day he would make a slurry of hot water and grain so the horse could eat. There was no cruelty, but there was a lot of care and love involved.)

When we go on an animal cruelty call we like to get the owner out there at the time we are inspecting the animal and its living conditions. Many times what appears to be neglect is ignorance. This is especially true of people who take up keeping horses for the first time. When inspecting horses we look at such things as body weight, and the bone structure at the withers, neck, loin, ribs and shoulder. The first thing I always check is their ability to walk and their hooves. Looking at a horse’s hooves immediately tells me how much care a horse is getting.

More frequently we get calls about dogs and other household pets. The most frequent call we get on dogs is that they are running loose on other peoples property. While there are no leash laws in the county, it is the responsibility of the owner to maintain control of his animal. The owner of the dog may be held responsible for any injury or damage inflicted by their animal. Property owners also have a right to protect themselves, their families, their livestock and their property from death, injury or harm. This includes using the force necessary to stop an attack. Also, the court may order the destruction of a dog that has been proven to be attacking livestock.

If you have questions reference animal control please feel free to call the Sheriff’s Office at 222-1000.