06/22/09 Madras
 
UPDATE:
 
 
On June 22, 2009 the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office charged Lynnette Anckaer-Kelly, 42, of Madras, was charged with five (5) counts of Animal Neglect in the First Degree.  This case was opened by the Sheriff's Office in May and has been an ongoing investigation. 
 
The case is still under investigation and additional arrests and charges may follow.  There is no additional information available at this time.
 
 
05/04/09 Jefferson County and Bend
 
Five horses brought to Equine Outreach in Bend, hungry. The vet labeled them at levels one and two -- meaning they're so emaciated, you can see their ribs and back bone. "We brought several back from worse condition before and we're confident we can do it again," said Joan Steelhammer, owner of Equine Outreach.
 
The owner of the horses surrendered them over the weekend at her Madras area home, telling Jefferson County Sheriff Deputies she's come upon tough times. "Just, there's a lot going on in their life right now and financially things are really tough and horses are really expensive to care for and they were feeling they couldn't take care of them any more and were ready to surrender them," said Deputy Melody Zistal with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.
 
"It could take months, up to a year for horses to get this emaciated so this in all likelihood didn't happen overnight," said Vet, Mike Putnam with Cascade Equine Veterinary Services.
 
KOHD tried to reach the Madras owner, but she wasn't home. Some of the horses taken were registered, valued at thousands of dollars. On average it can cost a couple hundred dollars a month for feed, vet care and farrier service. Now, as property of Equine Outreach, the horses are improving. "They're eating food fairly aggressively now which is really a good sign and that there's less likelihood that they're in organ failure of any sort," said Putnam.
 
The vet will have to keep watch on their health and fix their teeth, "We're just going to get their trust level back and set about grooming them and just getting them used to being handled again," said Steelhammer.
 
Cases of malnourished horses are popping up more frequently. "Animal neglect and Abandonment has been on the increase," said Deputy Rick Lauman, with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.
 
"It's a good ending for the horses," said Deputy Zistal.
 
While the cost of caring for a horse is high, and many are surrendering their animals, a number of people are reaching out. Community members are donating and right now 20 of Steelhammer's horses are getting ready to be adopted.
 
If you'd like to help Equine Outreach, you can visit their website, http://www.equineoutreach.com/ or give them a call at 541-382-0160