‘It’s like your child’: Beloved horse shot in the face while grazing, Oregon cops say

Jasper, a 9-year-old horse, was grazing in an Oregon pasture over the weekend when shots were fired at the animal — hitting him in the face and rear thigh, according to authorities.

Washington County deputies are trying to figure out who shot at the horse in an unincorporated area outside Cornelius, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release on Tuesday.

“This isn’t something we come across often, or ever,” said Washington County Sgt. Danny DiPietro, according to KGW. “This is malicious and disturbing.”

Deputies said they were called to the pasture on reports that the horse was shot on Sunday evening and discovered the animal was hit near the right side of its jaw and in its left thigh.

“He was limping, dragging that leg — it was really swollen. He just had marginal interest in food,” said Kelly Nelson, the owner of the boarding facility that cares for Jasper, according to KOIN. “His eyes just looked really dull and like he was in a lot of pain.”

Investigators said that, because of where the animal was hit, it seems likely that Jasper started to run away after the initial shot, KGW reports.

A local veterinarian is caring for Jasper, who is expected to live but will require surgery to possibly remove the bullets, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

“At first the vet thought maybe BBs, or bee stings — because we didn’t know that the holes were connected at first,” Jasper’s owner, Geneva Lieser, said of the animal’s wounds, according to KOIN.

Video posted by KOIN shows that one of the bullets struck the horse’s cheek and then his neck.

Deputies said it wasn’t an accident. DiPietro told KOIN that Japser may have been shot by a person driving by the field.

“Several bullet casings were found on the roadside, near the pasture where Jasper was grazing,” deputies said in the news release. “Based on the evidence at the scene, deputies believe the individual(s) who shot Jasper did so intentionally.”

Anyone with information in the case is encouraged to call the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at 503-846-2700.

“For someone to intentionally hurt your horse, something you cherish, it’s like your child. It’s messed up,” Lieser said, according to KGW.

This story was originally published June 5, 2019 at 12:44 PM with the headline "‘It’s like your child’: Beloved horse shot in the face while grazing, Oregon cops say."