A Bayfield man dodged jail time Tuesday after pleading guilty to animal cruelty, accepting allegations that he neglected a horse earlier this year on a pasture he was renting southeast of Ignacio.
La Plata County Judge Dondi Osborne imposed a 12-month deferred sentence for Eugene Carlson, 52, who pleaded guilty to a Class 1 misdemeanor of cruelty to animals. The terms of the sentence require that Carlson comply with random La Plata County Animal Protection welfare checks of his horses and notify Animal Protection if he plans to move the animals.
If he doesn’t abide by the terms of the agreement, Carlson could face up to 18 months in jail.
Someone reported animal abuse to Animal Protection in early February on a pasture Carlson rents in the 1900 block of County Road 333, said Travis Woehrel, director of Animal Protection. Officers found at least six horses at the property that appeared to be malnourished, he said.
Animal Protection officers told Carlson in mid-February to obtain veterinary care for the animals. But sometime between then and mid-March, when law enforcement returned to the pasture because they understood Carlson hadn’t been following the veterinary care plan, one of the horses died, Woehrel said.
Carlson said in court Tuesday that the horse died before Animal Protection made contact in February. Woehrel told The Durango Herald his office found the horse’s body “relatively intact” and has evidence that the horse was alive when Animal Protection first made contact.
Carlson told the judge the horses identified by law enforcement are all at least 20 years old and he’s had many since they were colts and foals. They always lose weight in the winter, and last summer’s exceptional drought and the 2018-19 winter’s exceptional snowfall exacerbated the impact to the animals, he told Osborne.
But the judge said regardless the circumstances, Carlson needs to have a plan to feed and water his horses. Carlson said he plans to increase the horse’s feeding regiment and has done so already – each of the horses identified by law enforcement have gained about 200 pounds since first contact.
bhauff@durangoherald.com
