MT. SHERIFF IGNORES COMPLAINTS & 7 HORSES DIE!

BILLINGS - Earlier this week, a viewer sent us some heartbreaking photographs of horses being neglected Musselshell County. KULR-8 went to investigate and this is what we discovered.

Tucked away in the Bull Mountains, horses are suffering in silence. And the silence is maddening for neighbor, Rae Ott, who watches the despair from her side of the dilapidated fenceline.

"They deserve better. I'm seeing pitiful creatures that don't have any means of serving themselves and nobody cares. They don't have food to eat, half the time there's no water. There's no shade when it's 105 degrees outside and I think this is wrong."

She invited us to witness what she calls animal cruelty. But also to tell us she tried to get help from the Musselshell County Sheriff's Department one year ago after seeing a badly injured colt go without veterinarian care. She says, "I have called them 8 or 9 times in the last year and a half. They come out here and say nothing seems to be wrong. But since then we've got 7 dead bodies on our hands. And it was all preventable."

Rimrock Humane Society President, Sandy Church, says the incident was reported to the sheriff's department. She showed us a report she'd made documenting a colt with a large bite mark and gaping wound on its chest. She says the animal needed veterinarian care and has reason to believe it was never taken care of. When we asked her whether it was frustrating to return to the property more than a year later to find more than a dozen horses with ribs and hip bones protruding she nearly breaks into tears.

Church, "It's absolutely heartbreaking. There's always the should have, could have, would have. If this could have been prevented, maybe we could have saved lives."

Church says the horses are in dire need of help. She says the Rimrock Humane Society can work on these issues up to a point, but then it must rely on the help of the Musselshell Sheriff's Department as the legally defined humane officers of the county.

The man responsible for these horses, Wayne Woods, did not want to go on camera, but admitted to us he is overwhelmed. The war veteran who once flew helicopters in Vietnam and spent 20 years working as a truck driver doesn't know how to maneuver out of this situation.

Last year dealt a series of tough blows. Woods says he lost 2 steers, 5 colts and most of his eyesight. As blindness sets in he says he has no income on the way. He's down to his last bale of hay and doesn't know where the next will come from.

During a conversation with him it became apparent, Mr. Woods is a softspoken man unlikely to seek out help on his own. But he told us he would indeed be grateful to anyone willing to help the horses he says he loves.

While he prays quietly for an answer, his neighbor, Rae Ott, is crying out for attention. "They can't talk, so someone has to speak for them. I know there are good people in the community who would probably help, but they can't help if they don't know it exists."

KULR-8 called authorities on Tuesday after seeing about 14 horses in bad shape. Since our call, the Musselshell County Sheriff's department and the County Attorney enlisted the help of Roundup veterinarian Loran Appell to look at the horses.

Prosecutors say animal cruelty charges are unlikely because Woods is working with them and has agreed to give some of the horses away to good homes. The vet says the horses desperately need hay, hoof work from a ferrier and general care.

Here's how you can make a difference: to help, contact the Rimrock Humane Society at (406) 323-3687 or email Sandy Church at wschurch@midrivers.com.

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