Daniel Prince
May 22, 2023
Two horses were found injured and underweight
A Union woman was arrested on a charge of ill treatment of animals. On Wednesday afternoon, Union County Animal Control Officer Valerie White requested Deputy Casey Barefoot meet with her at an address on Browns Creek Road regarding animal neglect. White advised Barefoot that there were two horses in a pasture that were injured and underweight. White told Barefoot she had spoken with the resident and owner of the horses, identified as 60-year-old Tammie Whitehead Stokes, and she had been told that Stokes knew the horses weren’t in the best condition and that she had neglected to seek any type of assistance for the horses’ health or wellbeing.
Barefoot entered he pasture and saw a dark brown and white horse and a light gray horse eating on a bale of hay. He could see the spine bones, rib bones, and hip bones of the brown and white horse, who also appeared to have a severe limp and was unsteady on its feet. Barefoot saw the gray horse was underweight and could see all its rib bones. He noticed the horse appeared to be having difficulty breathing, with visible short rapid breaths and keeping its head hung in a lower position. He looked at the feeding bowls, which didn’t appear to have been used recently, as they had debris in them and no sign of grain or feed. White told Barefoot when she arrived, there wasn’t much water in the troughs, but Barefoot saw water in two of the three troughs when he looked. The rest of the report is blacked out. Stokes was arrested and charged with ill treatment of animals, first offense. She was released on $5000 bond.