Horses Seized; Pair Face Cruelty Charges Pend Oreille County Couple Insist They Complied With Demands

Authorities seized six horses and charged a Pend Oreille County couple with animal cruelty Thursday.

Robert and Juanita Evenson, of 301 Westside Calispel Road, near Sacheen Lake, were served with a search warrant for the horses and charged with five counts each of second-degree animal cruelty, Deputy Sheriff David Snipes said.

Five of the horses taken were underweight and malnourished, Snipes said. The sixth horse was not underweight but had ulcerated eyes, a painful condition that can be treated but was not, Snipes said.

Juanita Evenson said the horses were not starving and that she and her husband are going to sue the county, the Sheriff’s Department and Snipes in particular for taking the horses.

Evenson said authorities visited in December and gave the couple a list of things they had to do to care for the horses. Evenson said they complied with everything, but the county took the horses anyway.

“Basically, they found a legal way to steal your horses,” she said.

Evenson believes the county only wanted the couple’s registered horses, and said those were the only ones officials took. She said the horses taken were no more underweight than the nine left behind.

Snipes said the department has made it a priority to be more aggressive in animal abuse cases.

“Abuse cases are common, and they are hard because there is so much emotion involved with animals,” he said.

In this case, the Sheriff’s Department got involved after complaints from neighbors, Snipes said.

The Evensons’ horses are kept in what amounts to a junkyard, Snipes said, with bits of metal and nails on the ground, making it dangerous for the animals. The county alleges the horses didn’t have a constant source of water, and what water they did have was often frozen. The horses were being fed, but not enough, Snipes said. The horses did have a windbreak but not a shelter, he said.

Healthy, well-fed horses don’t necessarily need a shelter, Snipes said, but skinny ones do.

Evenson said the horses are in no danger from metal, because all the cars and parts are behind a fence. The only thing on the ground was lumber because her husband is building a lean-to for the horses, she said. Her husband gives the horses fresh water every morning and evening, Evenson said, but they purchased heaters for the water tanks anyway. The horses were being fed and the underweight ones were being fed separately, Evenson said.

The couple’s veterinarian was scheduled to come by and check on the horses Saturday, Evenson said, but the county took them before he had a chance to see them.

The couple has 15 days to appeal the seizure or to post a bond for the horses’ care, Snipes said. The seizure is separate from the criminal charges, he said. The horses were boarded at four separate places, which authorities kept secret. Boarding costs to the county are usually $5 a day, Snipes said.

Evenson said they will rely on their lawsuit to get their horses back.

“We are not the scums they make us out to be. We are not inhumane to our horses,” she said. “We treat them better than a lot of people around here do.”