Dead and Malnourished Horses Lead to Animal Cruelty Charge

TENNESSEE -- A Selmer man is facing animal cruelty charges after one of his horses was found dead and another was left seriously malnourished.

"When we went up there, we did discover there was a dead horse in the pasture, and there was a very malnourished horse in the pasture with the dead horse," McNairy County Sheriff Guy Buck said.

The surviving horse was taken from its owner, Anthony Westbrooks, and given two rescuer Cheryl Dawson two weeks ago. The horse is looking better, but it is still noticeably underweight. Westbrooks is charged with animal cruelty, but it is only a misdemeanor.

"When I found out it was just a misdemeanor charge, I was shocked," Dawson said.

"By statute, a horse is livestock, and there's a completely different set of laws that govern what constitutes those criminal acts with livestock versus pets," Sheriff Buck said.

The sheriff stressed that the initial charge may not be the end all be all in this case. He said a lot can change between now and Westbrooks' December 5, 2013 court date.

"If the end of the investigation determines that he does need to be charged with a felony act, he still can be charged through the grand jury or new warrants could be issued," Sheriff Buck said.

Those who brought the case to light said any type of justice would be gratifying.

"I hope he does get some sort of conviction, whether felony or misdemeanor, so he'll have a record showing he has abused animals in the past," Animal Cruelty Investigator Larry Risner said. "Hopefully the judge will issue something saying he cannot own any type of animals in the future."

(WBBJTV - Nov 14, 2013)