Homes sought for seven horses seized in Pine County

Doc wasn't much more than a bag of bones when Pine County deputies seized him and dozens of other emaciated horses and dogs in September and October in an animal-cruelty investigation.

Many of the animals have been adopted, including Doc, who has filled out and is acting as a stallion should on his new ranch, says a veterinarian who helped find him a new owner.

But seven of 28 horses seized still need homes, Chief Deputy Steven Blackwell said. "The remaining animals are right on the bubble as to their ability to sustain any quality of life," he said.

Feed and upkeep have run to about $20,000 each for two groups of horses, rounded up in two seizures from Pine County animal owners with a long history of neglecting animals. Charges against the owners are pending, Blackwell said.

The first seizure came Sept. 12 at a farm northeast of Pine City and led to removal of 14 starving horses, 22 dogs, 84 chickens and 18 ducks. A second on Oct. 10 involved 14 horses and 15 dogs. Three of the horses had to be put down.

"The term gut-wrenching doesn't begin to tell how bad things were," said North Ridge Veterinary Service's Delores Gockowski, who has been caring for the horses since.

All surviving horses from the first group are adopted. For the seven horses remaining from the second seizure, prospective owners must provide a veterinarian reference letter and contact information from a farrier, Gockowski said.

"They are not aggressive toward people but have not ever had any normal human interaction so they are very unsociable with people. We have had horse trainers and vets give us numerous opinions on their abilities and level of human influence, and they have all concluded that they would be no more than an ornamental addition for anyone who may take them."

That leaves the question, Blackwell said, of who would pay to keep the horses.

"By statute we are required to humanely dispose of the animals, and to this point after weeks of reaching out to the horse community no one is willing to take one of our living lawn ornaments, as beautiful as they may be," he said.

Blackwell and Sheriff Robin Cole don't want the horses sold for meat.

"But we are at an impasse, and the sheriff and I are struggling with the fact that we need to make a professionally responsible decision on these animals and that will have to be done minus any emotional struggles we may be having," Blackwell said.