TEXAS -- Dogs attacked and killed a miniature horse in Lubbock County Thursday night. The horses have been a frequent target for dog attacks.
Another miniature horse survived an attack in February, two other horses died in 2010, while two more were killed in 2008.
This most recent attack happened around 8 p.m. in Shallowater off County Road 6040.
The horse and dog owners would not comment on camera, but the owner of the horse, Gary Stark, said "he destroyed the dogs."
He said the two dogs belonged to his neighbor, Carlton Jacops.
Jacops says one of the dogs was half pit bull and half lab. The other was a mix.
Jacops said Stark's horses are always loose and on his property. He said he doesn't know why the dogs killed Stark's horse.
We tried to contact Lt. Bryan Taylor with the Lubbock County Sheriff's Office for confirmation, but were unable to reach him as of Friday evening.
Melanie Tatum is the co-founder of "Minis and Friends South Plains", an organization that uses the miniature horses as therapy animals for people in the community. She says it's never just one dog.
"More than one or two dogs get together, they take on a pack mentality. I don't really know - it's a mystery to me also," Tatum said.
This has happened to Tatum in the past, and she's done her best to prevent another attack.
"We've tried to dog proof as well as we could our area. We put wiring up, we put panels up to try to keep dogs out," she said.
Tatum used to work for Hearts and Hooves, another animal therapy organization. Some of those therapeutic mini horses were attacked and killed back in 2008.
"It makes me very sad because I was with another organization and we lost two horses from dog attacks. And there again it's the dog owner," Tatum said.
She says it all comes down to the owner's responsibility.
"Two dogs had to die again, just like when our horses were attacked another time because of some dog owner. It's not the dog's fault, it's the owner's fault," Tatum said.
Ted Jones is the other co-founder of "Minis and Friends South Plains." He said heart-wrenching stories like this happen all the time.
"Several times a year it happens, and it's not just been horses. In recent history, like the last couple of years, there've been some attacks on goats and sheep and some other livestock as well," Jones said.
Both Tatum and Jones say for some reason it always happens on very cold days during the winter.
(KCBD - Jan 4, 2013)
