Long Prairie pony's death was natural, vet says

Article by: Paul Walsh , Star Tribune
Updated: November 20, 2007 - 7:14 PM

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An 11-year-old girl's pony, whose death in Long Prairie, Minn., was first blamed on a hunter and then on an act of mutilation, died of natural causes and was scavenged by animals.

That's the conclusion of the Todd County Sheriff's Office and the veterinarian on the case.

Two weeks ago, Katie Symalla's 6-year-old palomino, Savannah, was found dead outside its owners' Todd County home. Initially, sheriff's investigators said Savannah was killed by a deer hunter's bullet. Later that week, the horse was exhumed and veterinarian Charles Moberg said the horse was mutilated in a "heinous" and "cruel" act with a sharp instrument.

But on Tuesday, Moberg said that he had reassessed the case, and that based on his review of photos of the pony, he concluded that "the most logical thing" is that the death was the result of natural causes and that one or more animals scavenged the carcass. Savannah had been having health problems before it died, he said.

Moberg said that he spoke with the pony's owner and that the family has accepted his determination. However, the girl's uncle, Alonzo Symalla, said Tuesday that the family does not accept Moberg's conclusion.

Chief Sheriff's Deputy Bryan Tebben concurred with Moberg, adding that there is no evidence that the pony was mutilated or shot by a deer hunter. "There were no persons responsible" for Savannah's death, Tebben said.

Moberg said more should have been done initially to establish the cause of death and added, "The one thing I regret saying is that it was a heinous act."

When news of Savannah's death spread, offers to replace her poured in, and the family accepted as a gift Rajah Sweet Lady, an 8-month-old filly from a ranch near Browerville, Minn.

PAUL WALSH