Two loose dogs attacked a Gillette family’s horse at their home Wednesday afternoon, leaving a 5-year-old palomino named Selah with what appeared to be bite wounds on her face, chest and both front legs.
The horse’s owner, Clare Sheehan, told Cowboy State Daily that she has not yet tracked down the owner of the dogs.
Sheehan’s husband was taking out the trash between 3 and 4 p.m. when he heard a commotion and saw the dogs going after the horses.
“He saw the dogs chasing the horses with one horse out on the road cut up,” Sheehan said. “When he yelled, the dogs ran off.”
Sheehan said they reported the incident to animal control.
The Gillette Police Department told Cowboy State Daily that the attack was “being dealt with” by animal control. The animal-control department directed questions back to Gillette Police Department Capt. Eric Vos, who did not respond by publication time.
Horse On The Road
Hog paneling surrounds most of the corral, Sheehan said, but one roughly 20-foot stretch along the road doesn’t have it. She thinks that’s where the dogs must have gotten in.
Sheehan said she believes the dogs either forced Selah to jump a panel or she went down in front of one and managed to work her way under it, which is how she ended up on the road.
Sheehan said her husband described the dogs as one reddish brown and the other black and white, but his attention was elsewhere in the moment.
“He didn’t spend time chasing the dogs down because now the horse was loose on the road,” Sheehan said. "He had to go get a halter to catch her and get her back in the pasture.”
Sheehan was not home when the attack happened, but she thinks her husband would have shot the dogs if he’d had a gun. She said she would hate to see that outcome, but she would have been “minimally opposed” to it if it stopped the attack.
“Horses are pretty expensive,” she said. “There's a lot of time and money that goes into them. Not that dogs aren't sentimental, but it's a lot to recoup if you have an injury that a horse can't recover from.”
For her, the situation is all the more reason to emphasize responsible pet ownership.
“I don't know who takes out the trash with a gun, but some people do,” Sheehan said. “It’s an open carry state. How terrible if those were your dogs and they got killed?”
‘Not The Dog’s Fault’
Sheehan is a veterinarian, and she and her husband own Sheehan Equine Dental & Chiropractic, which also offers pharmacy services. With that expertise, the couple was able to treat Selah’s injuries at home.
“We boostered her rabies and then tended to the wounds,” Sheehan said. “It doesn't appear like any joints are affected, which is good because in horses you mostly worry about joint infections.”
She said those joint injuries could surface with time, and they will keep a close eye on the horse for any signs.
Given her knowledge of animal behavior, Sheehan said she wasn’t particularly surprised that dogs attacked her horse.
“If the dogs were just wandering by and the horses were up in that corner, that’s quite tempting for two dogs,” Sheehan said. “I think there certainly is a pack mentality that I've noticed, from a dog owner and veterinary aspect.”
The incident, she said, doesn’t mean that the offending dogs are bad dogs.
“It's not the dog's fault,” Sheehan said. “The owner has a responsibility to keep the dog out of that situation.”
Safety Concerns
Sheehan said Gillette generally doesn’t have a stray-dog problem, and it’s rare to see loose dogs in town without a person nearby. Still, she said the attack on her horse echoes other incidents in which dogs have injured animals in the area.
“I have had goat patients attacked by dogs and what not,” Sheehan said. “That doesn't happen all the time, but it does happen.”
Since the attack on her horses, Sheehan said she has felt more apprehensive about her family’s safety.
“Those horses were just minding their own business,” Sheehan said. “It's not like they're outside the pen doing anything. So what’s to say those dogs wouldn't attack my kid or my dog?”
At the same time, she said she understands that things happen. As a dog owner herself, Sheehan knows animals can get loose even with responsible owners, and that they can act on instinct and hurt other animals.
What she wants now is for the owners of the attacking dogs to take responsibility for the incident.
“If they come with a genuine apology and then take some real action to make sure that that's not going to happen again, I'm fine with that,” Sheehan said.
Emma Jane Jackson can be reached at emma@cowboystatedaily.com.
