Statesman Journal June 1, 2006

   On May 3, dozens of volunteers with the Mid-Willamette Valley nonprofit group took in 13 of about 27 horses surrendered by their owner.

   Some of the horses were ins talls with manure 3 feet deep, and many were sick, volunteers with the group said.

   The Linn county Sheriff's Office still is investigating the owners, Mary and patricia Huggins, but Capt. Bruce Riley said he does not expect criminal charges now that the number of horses is more manageable.

   "We have been continuing to monitor.  We were out there within the last month or so," Riley said.  "They are down to 13 horses.  Things have improved; stalls are clean.   They seem to be managing them well.  At this point it is still not a criminal investivation.  It sounds like things are a little better over there for them."

   One rescued horse, Stoney, was euthanized May 25 after he began hemorrhaging from his nose that morning, said Celina Mesa, the executive director of the nonprofit group. 

   Mesa said that Stoney had been doing better on antibiotics and pain medication, but on the morning of May 25, his head was swollen and he was bleeding from both nostrils.  Earlier in the month, two veterinarians examined him and said his condition was terminal, she said.

   Given what happened to Stoney, Mesa and other volunteers are worried about the condition of the other horses still on the Lebanon property.  The owners will not allow volunteers on the property again, Mesa said.

   Calls to Mary and patricia Huggins were not answered, and no machine is available for leaving messages.

   This isn't the first time the Huggins have been targets of a horse-neglect investigation.

   In 1996, patricia Huggins was convicted of five counts of second-degree horse neglect, a misdemeanor.  Huggins served a three-year probation in which she could not own more than eight horses and had to have adequate food and veterinary care for the animals.

   Riley said that the 1996 conviction does not affect this investigation.

   Oregon Animal Care Center is working with a lawyer to build a case against the -wners so horses in their care are not in jeopardy in the future, Mesa said.

   In the meantime, the rescued horses with serious problems will remain in the care of Oregon Animal Care Center volunteers until they can be released to their new owners.

   Alena Zimmerman, who temporarily took in six of the rescued horses, plans to adopt Laddie, who is Stoney's offspring.

   She is one of dozens of people who have offered more than $2,000 in goods or services to the organization after hearing about the horse-rescue operation.