Photo COURTESY ACSO/Special to alachua County Today
ADSO Deputy Montana Sayers and Dr. Randy Emmons, DVM, tend to injured horses that were attacked by dogs. Only two out of five mini horses survived.
ALACHUA – John Weber calls it the war zone because as of Monday afternoon, he hadn’t cleaned up the blood splattered across the wall of the stables that once housed his five miniature horses.
According to Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO), deputies responded to 12808 NW 142nd Terr. in Alachua on Sunday, Oct. 4 to the report of aggressive dogs that had mauled a group of miniature horses. Upon arrival, deputies encountered several severely injured horses, the report said.
“One of the animals sustained fatal wounds from the dog (s) and another horse had to be put down due to the severity of its injuries,” the report continues. “Deputies used their issued trauma kits to provide emergency medical treatment to the other horses and contacted Dr. Randy Emmons, DVM, who responded to the scene to provide veterinary services to the surviving animals.”
By Monday morning, a third horse had died, said 69-year-old owner Weber. And, according to ACSO Public Information Officer Art Forgey, the case was handed over to the Alachua County Animal Services.
“Sparky, the little white one, died this morning,” Weber said while standing near the stalls where the incident happened.
“One mare was dead right here,” he said as he pointed to the doorway. “The others got attacked in here,” he said as he pointed to the blood-stained stalls.
“I’ve got two of them left,” he said of his heard of five purebred miniature horses.
“The mother took good care of them. She kicked the hell out of those dogs.
“There was five here, three of them got killed. Bella, my wife’s first horse was four. Another mare here was 17, she belonged to my vet. She got killed right over here. And the little stud, Sparky, died in my son’s arms when we moved him today.”
Weber buried all three horses in the pasture on Monday in an 8-foot deep grave, he said. Now, he said he wants to meet the owner of the dogs.
According to Forgey, Christa Goon was determined to be the owner.
“Goon was out of town and care for the dogs was being handled by Edmond Sermons,” Forgey stated in an email. According to the report, Sermons was contacted and advised the dogs escaped from the house where he was caring for them. Sermons was issued a citation for the dogs being at large by Animal Control Officer Kirby. Both dogs were seized by animal control.”
When Weber’s grandson arrived home from school on Monday, Oct. 5, he ran to the stall where Sparky was resting earlier that morning.
The A.L. Mebane Middle School student called out to Sparky, but as he approached the stall and realized it was empty, Weber delivered the bad news.
“Sparky was five months old,” Weber said. “My grandson named him.”
Weber’s wife Nancy has been up in New York since the attack happened and at first, he said he wasn’t going to tell her until she came home, but Weber said social media postings forced him to share the bad news.
“She was up there picking apples to bring home for the horses,” he said.
Weber plans to bleach the scene and paint the stalls with a fresh coat of white paint, he said.
He’s already taken wire panels used for a dog kennel apart and started putting them up around the pasture to keep another attack from happening.
The incident is not something he will ever forget the details of, he said.
“The dogs were over the top of here,” he said. “A dark brown and lighter colored one.”
The remaining two horses were skittish at first, but are starting to let visitors approach them.
“Wendy and her baby,” he said. “Wendy got cut underneath her jaw. Under her chin, big time, and they grabbed her hind leg. Curly Sue got just a scratch on her leg.
Weber is still not sure why the dogs attacked his horses and none of the livestock nearby.
“My neighbor’s got goats, they never touched them,” he said. “Why they came through here, I don’t know. And they went for the barn. That’s what got me.
“It’s life though. The ironic part is, that the goat up there was my granddaughter’s 4-H goat. That goat was in the corner shaking.
While the last two horses grazed in the pasture on Monday, Weber asked a question out loud as he watched them.
“I’ll always wonder, will they remember what they saw?”
He turned his attention back to Curly Sue, the smallest and youngest survivor.
“I’m glad she didn’t get hurt,” he said. “That’s my wife’s baby, right there. Her foot is still a little tender. The vet says she’ll be fine.”
Weber said he’ll be writing a letter to ACSO Sheriff Sadie Darnell about how deputies treated him and his herd.
He tears up when he explains what one deputy did upon arrival.
“The deputy stayed here the whole time,” he said about Deputy Montana Sayers.
“The lady was in the pen with a compress on that horse for 45 minutes trying to stop the bleeding.
“All she asked for was two things, he said.
“She wanted a bucket to sit on and she said, ‘give me some tissues.’ ”
“They were absolutely awesome,” he added.
“I’m not going to be mad,” Weber said about his upcoming meeting with the owner of the dogs who was away in Arizona when the attack happened.
“I don’t hold it against the dogs. I hold it against the owners.”
Other attacks
When Weber’s neighbor on the same street saw the news posted on ACSO’s Facebook page, she commented that her family has also had pets attacked and killed by dogs of similar description.
“I used to take my children to the bus stop,” Tracey Neel said.
But a year ago, a dog came out and tried to attack us,” she said. “We had to hide at our landlord’s house.”
Both Neel and Weber live within less than half a mile from W. W. Irby Elementary School located at 13505 NW 140th St.
Neel describes one dog as black and the other as blonde or brown that have both come to her fenced in yard on multiple occasions.
“It still comes in our yard from time to time,” she said about one of the dogs. “ It’s been probably two weeks since they we have seen the black dog.”
According to Neel, who resides five houses north of Weber on the same street at 13208 NW 142 Terr., she called Alachua County Animal Services last year when the dog was out back by the rabbit hutch and “ an hour later, the dog was gone, the rabbit was gone and we never saw animal control.”
According to a Alachua County Animal Services, a report of a dog attack was filed by Neel on Oct. 16, 2014, but the report says Neel called back and cancelled when the dogs left. At that point animal services did not pursue the incident, said Animal Services Field Investigator Darla Farnell.
“We lost the one rabbit one week and the next week, the other one was dead in the yard,” Neel said.
Dogs tipped over a rabbit house to get to the two rabbits.
“There have been dog issues in this area,” Neel said. “I can honestly say I don’t feel comfortable walking my kids to and from the bus stop every day.
“It was nothing dramatic like the horses, but it was for my daughter. With the black dog, we don’t know where it’s from. We keep our gate closed, we also now have a dog.”
According to Forgey, in these cases where animals get loose and kill pets or livestock on another property, the cases are turned over to Animal Services.
“Ultimately, the owner of the horse, to recover any money he is out, would have to sue,” Forgey said about recovery losses.
As of press time, Alachua County Animal Services maintained custody of the two dogs which are now part of an Aggressive Dog Investigation.
“We collect evidence and witness statements, records, documentation,” Farnell explained.
The official citation issued to Edmond according to Farnell was a violation of Ordinance 72.21 “companion animals creating a public nuisance.”
Weber said the dogs' owner still had not returned home and he hasn't spoken to her.
“I'm going to let my attorney do his work,” he said on Tuesday.
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