Now the Madison County Sheriff's Office is trying to track down who is responsible for leaving the animals to starve.
A witness describes the condition of a mule when she found him Wednesday on a Madison County property.
"It just acted sickly. That's all you can really say. It was lifeless," she said. The witness asked WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News not to use her name.
A veterinarian said the mule, the only animal deputies found alive, is now fighting for his life.
"You could see its ribs, all of its bones. It looked like it could be saved, so we called the sheriff's department," she said.
Sheriff John Mehr said two dead horses were found by deputies when they arrived at the field off Riverside Drive in south Madison County.
"The person who owned the horses actually died several years back, and nobody knows who is actually in charge of property anymore," Mehr said.
Now investigators are trying to track down who was taking care of the animals and when and why they stopped.
"We'll go back and see who was the next of kin," Mehr said.
The woman who found the mule said she believes someone neglected the animals on purpose.
"The horse hasn't been fed. When I saw it, it was eating dirt off the ground for food and bark off trees. It was kind of frustrating," she said.
She hopes deputies are able to track down the culprit.
"It's an animal. It has feelings just like you do. It wants to be fed, wants water. It just breaks my heart to know there are people out there that would do this to an animal," she said.
The mule will stay with Redemption Road Rescue until they find him a new home.
(WBBJ - Sep 25, 2014)
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