On Tuesday, Missy Lucero saw her 7-year-old horse, Belle, bloodied and bruised in her pen. Parts of her lip were dangling, and bite and scratch marks were scattered all over her snout and in the areas surrounding her eyes.
"Our horse had been attacked again. Chased off by dogs. We found her a bloody mess again," Lucero said.
Back in February, a pair of pit bulls from a nearby home were accused of attacking Belle. Lucero claimed that those same pit bulls were the ones that mauled Belle on Tuesday.
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| This is what Belle looked like after the first attack |
"We're terrified of it happening again. We reinforced the pen. We tried to do our part to keep her safe," said Lucero, who paid $1000 to improve the horse pen.
Belle is recuperating at the New Mexico Equine in Albuquerque. Even though the veterinarian confirms that the first attack was worse, Belle has lost a noticeable amount of weight.
"It shouldn't have happened the first time, much less twice," Lucero said.
According to a spokesperson for the Sandoval County Sheriff's Office, the family filed a police report. The pit bulls' owner is facing criminal charges, although they are pending.
However, the pit bulls have yet to be quarantined.
"It is frustrating, because we feel like they're just free to roam free," Lucero said.
Once a Sandoval County magistrate judge deems a dog "vicious," authorities can take the dog away from its owner and quarantine the animal, per a spokesperson with the Sandoval County Sheriff's Office.
(KOAT - Aug 9, 2013)