A controversy has erupted on social media about who actually owns the horse and whether it was suffering from abuse and neglect or is being treated for a medical problem.
The Humane Society’s animal control team has seized the brown horse. It is now receiving “excellent care” at an undisclosed location pending an investigation, said Keenan Harvey, executive director of Humane Society of Cowlitz County.
Castle Rock resident Amy Applebury said the horse, known as “Pilgrim” on social media, wandered onto her property on Oct. 20. Photos show the horse was under weight with its ribs and hip bones visible, had overgrown and damaged hooves as well as an open wound.
Applebury said she kept the horse that night and started posting on Facebook to try to find the owner, before alerting the Humane Society the next day. Over the weekend, she arranged to have a specialist trim the horse’s hooves and a veterinarian evaluate its condition.
Community members identified the horse as belonging to a Longview woman who keeps her horses on a property off of West Side Highway in Kelso. The woman said she can’t be sure the horse is hers without seeing it in person. The Daily News typically does not publish the name of potential suspects if charges have not been filed in these cases.
Update: She has since been identified as Tessita Duff, 42, aka Tessi Woodard.
Applebury refused to give the horse back because she worried it was suffering from neglect.
“In my heart, I just couldn’t give the horse back to an abuser,” Applebury said.
By the end of last weekend, Animal Control had picked up Pilgrim to bring to a rescue location.
The possible owner said she did have a brown horse, who she calls “Dust,” that went missing from her cousin’s house at about the time Applebury found “Pilgrim.” Her cousin lives near Applebury on Spirit Lake Memorial Highway.
Dust had apparently suffered from ongoing health problems that made it difficult for the horse to gain weight in spite of trying various foods, supplements and dewormers, she said. The horse had been taken to her cousin’s house in preparation to be euthanized. She added that she believes Dust was stolen from her cousin’s property.
However, animal control and the sheriff’s office said they are not investigating it as a theft case.
Harvey said the Humane Society had been aware of Dust’s condition for weeks, but because it was receiving veterinary care and had its basic needs met, there was not enough evidence to seize the animal until last weekend.
Harvey expects to have more information and a potential update on Dust/Pilgrim’s case early next week.
He also confirmed that there have been previous “unfounded” complaints filed against the horse owner’s family.
Applebury and others notified the Humane Society as well of a second potentially-abused horse on the owner’s property. The white horse was not found to be an imminent danger, but the agency did order the owners to take “corrective actions on the living conditions.”
(TDN - Oct 29, 2016)
