A recent tip to Lexington-Fayette Animal Care and Control may have saved the lives of nearly three dozen dogs and horses. Lieutenant Jai Hamilton is the agency’s cruelty investigator. She said someone was driving past a group of horses and saw them pawing near a water trough, which indicated they didn’t have enough water. When they arrived, they realized the caller was correct.
“This particular person has been charged with equine neglect many times by our agency, so that's not anything that is really out of the ordinary, but we were unable to get in contact with her over the phone, which was a little odd.”
Hamilton said they watered the 18 horses there, but couldn’t reach the owner of the property, who’d been charged with equine neglect several times. So they went to her house.
“We saw dogs tied up to the inside of the car. We saw dogs tied up to a tree, some dogs running loose, and the most suspicious thing was a fully tacked up horse with a bridle and a saddle, with no rider.”
Hamilton said police later found the owner’s body on a neighboring property. She said the 14 dogs they found were taken to their shelter and some have already been transferred to the Lexington Humane Society for adoption. The horses were given to a relative of the woman.
