Starving horses and dogs were seized Thursday from property in east-central Minnesota in an action connected to an animal raid last month involving the same owner, authorities said.
Fourteen horses and 15 dogs that Sheriff Robin Cole described as emaciated were taken by Pine County authorities.
One horse was found dead on the approximately 500-acre property just north of Pine City, and "it apparently had been dead for some time," the sheriff said.
As the afternoon stretched on, "we're still chasing cats all over the place," Cole said.
The raid comes four weeks after one that also involved animals owned by Kathy Doenz, 65, of Pine City. In the earlier action, 12 starving horses, 21 dogs, 84 chickens and 18 ducks were collected. Two of the horses were later put down.
Cole said the next task for the Sheriff's Office is to turn over evidence against Doenz to the county attorney's office for possible charges.
Court records show that Doenz was convicted and sentenced in 2006 on a charge of gross-misdemeanor cruelty to animals. Efforts to reach Doenz were unsuccessful Thursday.
As for the fate of the newly seized animals, the horses were taken to a stable and the dogs to a kennel. Should time run out for Doenz to reclaim the animals, the adoption process would kick in.
