STONE COUNTY, AR — The Stone County Sheriff’s Department is investigating an animal control officer for possible neglect of two horses, but the officer says he did nothing wrong.
However, the President of the Stone County Humane Society says she started receiving complaints about the two horses last summer already and one of the animals didn’t survive.
In photographs of that horse, you can see the bones sticking out of it.
People who live nearby say for days the animal had a hard time breathing until it eventually died last month.
Neighbors say there’s no grass on the ground and they didn’t see much hay out until just recently.
The Stone County Sheriffs Department is waiting on results from a vet test to find out what caused the horse’s death.
Neighbors say in the past couple of weeks the other horse’s condition improved.
Regardless, the Stone County Humane Society president says an animal control officer should be held to higher standards.
Tina Holmlund said seeing the pictures of the sick horse was very upsetting.
She said, “I wish I would never have to see that again.”
Holmlund says she’ll do all she can to make sure this case doesn’t somehow fall through the cracks.
Meanwhile, we did speak to the animal control officer being investigated.
He declined an interview but told us his horse died of an illness called colic.
Investigators are expecting to get results back on how the horse died by next week.
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However, the President of the Stone County Humane Society says she started receiving complaints about the two horses last summer already and one of the animals didn’t survive.
In photographs of that horse, you can see the bones sticking out of it.
People who live nearby say for days the animal had a hard time breathing until it eventually died last month.
Neighbors say there’s no grass on the ground and they didn’t see much hay out until just recently.
The Stone County Sheriffs Department is waiting on results from a vet test to find out what caused the horse’s death.
Neighbors say in the past couple of weeks the other horse’s condition improved.
Regardless, the Stone County Humane Society president says an animal control officer should be held to higher standards.
Tina Holmlund said seeing the pictures of the sick horse was very upsetting.
She said, “I wish I would never have to see that again.”
Holmlund says she’ll do all she can to make sure this case doesn’t somehow fall through the cracks.
Meanwhile, we did speak to the animal control officer being investigated.
He declined an interview but told us his horse died of an illness called colic.
Investigators are expecting to get results back on how the horse died by next week.
To follow Melissa Schroeder on Twitter, click here.
If you would like to follow Melissa Schroeder’s reports on Facebook, you can click here and like her page.
