Magic, the 12-year-old miniature - was killed in an attack at the family farm in Te Kowhai during the New Year holiday.
He had been with his owners Brent and Suzy McPhail since he was five-months-old.
Suzy and her family are devastated by the death.
"He was one of our pets, we got him on my birthday," she said.
"If you're an animal lover you feel so much for them, they become part of your family ... My daughter and I are very close to our horses, so for her and me particularly - it's difficult.."
The couple, who own 13 acres near Hamilton, were away on holiday last week when they got the devastating call on Wednesday night.
A friend who was watching the property found Magic dead.
They arrived about midnight to find Magic fatally injured in the small paddock by the shed.
The paddock was open and fenced off, but dogs would easily have been able to jump the fence.
"The blood was still all wet on the ground, but it was mauled to death on the ground," Brent said.
The last person to see Magic alive was a friend collecting the pony's poo for a Christmas tradition with his grandchildren.
"Every year he gets the poo as it looks like reindeer poo, he was here at 10am and gave him a scratch, the other guy came back at 8 and found him."
The grandchildren had recently been involved in a fatal car crash at Te Awamutu before Christmas.
"Because they were in hospital they waited until after Christmas to celebrate, so it's really been two weeks of hell," Brent said.
This isn't the only loss the family have encountered. Ten years ago they lost a flock of sheep which were mauled by dogs.
"Certainly now we are on high alert for our sheep, our calves and our other horses. Neighbours who have stock need to be on alert too, because these dogs weren't caught," Suzy said.
"I think people need to be aware ... in the country , if they have animals, if they have dogs they need to be responsible and keep them under control at all times," .
Although they do not know which dogs are responsible she said they only way to find them is to catch them in the act.
"The only way to perhaps prove [it] is if they come back to try it on other stock, that's the only way," Suzy said.
"If the owners were there and they saw [the dogs] come back, they would have known, because [the dogs] would have been covered in blood."
The devastated family will not look for a replacement.
"He was a real personality, a little character ... I won't replace him with another one. He meant a lot to me."
Animal control had visited the property to inspect the pony before it was buried by its owners in a paddock.
(Auckland stuff.co.nz - Jan 7, 2016)
No comments:
Post a Comment