Mississippi: Joe Stewart charged with animal cruelty after dead and starving horses found

MISSISSIPPI -- After noticing some pretty foul smells and a few unwanted gifts from her dog, Paula John says she and her neighbors started investigating what was going on in the pasture behind their home.

"There were six horses here to start off with and now there is only one walking around," John said. "You can see bones. You find one deceased in a pond."

Leake County Sheriff Greg Waggoner says, so far, what they do know is that the horses do not belong to the landowner, who lives somewhere out of the state.

"We have one person. He's claiming one of the horses is his. The rest of them weren't," Sheriff Waggoner said. "Charges are animal cruelty. It was obvious that some had died. We can't say for certain whether they had sickness or (whether it) was it starvation, but there will be an investigation into it."

The owner of the white horse on the property is being charged with one count of animal cruelty. His name is Joe Nathan Stewart.

 

 

The white horse, the sheriff says, will be taken to a nearby barn where they will nurse it back to health. In the future, it will be put up for adoption.

The horse laying down, however, could be euthanized. Rescuers are calling her "Fancy". She says, after laying on her side for so long and if she can't get up on her own, any chance of survival is slim.

 

 

 

However, Thursday afternoon, things began looking up. Rescuers are calling "Fancy" a fighter. They were able to help her stand and she is holding her own weight. A local vet is giving her fluids and assessing her.

 

 

Local rescue, "Save our Strays" has stepped in for these horses. They are working with a vet and other rescues to try to save Fancy.

To donate to "Save our Strays" and to the care of these horses, paypal donations to: sos4ms@yahoo.com.

 

 

 

(Mississippi News Now - January 14th 2017)