RateMyHorsePRO - horseauthority.co · 4. After meeting with Dr. Cook, ... Crandall indentified the five photographs Lt. Greydanus ... wh i ch was l ess

Erin R. Murphy, Deputy County AttorneyGallatin County Attorney's Office1709 West College, Suite 200B ozeman, Mon t an a 5 9 7 1 5T elephone : (4 0 6 ) 5 8 2 - 3 7 4 5

MONTANA EIGHTEENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, G2Dj~T IN 'COUNTY

t'lLED

* * * * *

) Case N o . : DC - 1 5 f%~STATE OF MONTANA,

Plaintiff, ) AFFIDAVIT OF PROBABLE CAUSE AND)

) MOTION FOR LEAVE TO F ILE AN

) INFORMATION)))

)

D AYLE HARRI S K O UNTZ ,

D efendan t .

COMES NOW, Erin R. Murphy, and being first duly sworn upon

oath, deposes and says a s fo llows: Your affiant is a Deputy

Gallatin County Attorney, and by law one o f th e a ttorneys to

prosecute criminal matters in the State of Montana. Your affiant

is aware of the following facts based on a report of investigation

compiled by Lt. Arlyn Greydanus of the Gallatin County Sheriff's

Off i c e .

1. On or about March 28, 2015 at a pproximately 11:30 a.m.,

Gallatin County Sheriff's Deputy Dane Vranish was dispatched to

Kountz Arena, located at 44 9 0 St ucky Road, G allatin County,

Montana, for a report of animal cruelty. The a nonymous caller

reported that a horse was missing a foot, lying in its own feces

and suffering in a small stall. Dep uty Vranish arrived at the

facility and learned a horse show was in progress. He was met by

a number of horse owners when he arrived. Deputy Vranish located

the horse, an elderly stallion, on the northwest portion of the

property. The horse was standing, but missing the lower portion

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of its left front leg. D eputy Vranish attempted to contact local

veterinarians for a ssistance and wa s a ble t o re ach All W e st

Veterinary Hospital and a vet responded to the property.

2. At approximately 12:43 p.m., Deputy Vranish placed a call to

the owner of the horse, Dayle Harris Kountz, the Defendant herein.

Deputy Vranish explained to the Defendant that he was called to

respond to the Kountz arena and asked the Defendant what was going

on with the stud horse, subsequently identified as Young Doc Bar.

The Defendant stated he had the horse for 22 or 23 years and he

was going to get some semen out of the horse and then put him

down. The Defendant stated Young Doc Ba r w as in jured around

Christmas of 2014 when he got his foot caught between panels and

"hurt the foot real bad." The Defendant stated he cared f o r t h e

horse, but the foot was so damaged it fell off, but the injury was

healed now. The Defendant stated he spent a lot of money keeping

the horse alive and wanted to get some semen out of him. The

Defendant stated he called Dr. Jacy Cook about the original injury

and got information on how to treat it, but the horse did not see

a veterinarian. Deputy Vranish concluded the conversation and

told the Defendant a veterinarian was on the way and he would call

the Defendant back after speaking with the veterinarian.

3. Dr. Gary Cook with All West Veterinary responded to Kountz

Arena to assist Deputy Vranish. Deputy Vranish asked Dr. Cook to

examine both Young Doc Bar and a young calf which was in the same

area as the horse and appeared to be in very poor health. Dr .

Cook recommended both the horse and the calf be euthanized.


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4. After meeting with Dr. Cook, Deputy Vranish again called the

Defendant. Deput y Vranish i n formed t he Defendant that t h e

veterinarian determined both Young Doc Bar and the calf needed to

be put down. The Defendant argued the calf was fine, but Deputy

Vranish told him the veterinarian disagreed. The Defendant stated

he would be returning from Billings that evening and would shoot

both the calf and Young Doc Bar, Dep uty Vranish requested the

Defendant provide proof that both animals were e u t h a n i z e d a n d t he

Defendant agreed to send a picture. Deputy Vranish closed the

case w i t h a wa r n i n g .

5. Subsequently, a number of potential witnesses c ame f o r w a r d

a nd t h e c a se wa s f or wa r d e d to De tectives for furt her

investigation. Lt . Arlyn Greydanus took over the investigation

and began locating and contacting witnesses to set up interviews.

6. On March 30, 2015, Lt. Greydanus contacted Nick Ames. A m es

stated he was present with Sammy Jo Hall, w hil e she w as sh o w i n g

h er h o r s e a t Kou t n z Ar e n a o n M a r c h 2 8 , 2015. Ames stated he took

photographs of the horse located in a stall next to the arena and

would e-mail those to Lt. Greydanus. Ames agreed to come to the

Law and Justice Center that afternoon for an interview. A mes al s o

e-mailed Lt. Greydanus photographs that had been taken of the

horse. Ames stated five of the photographs had been taken by his

friend Mallory Crandall on February 9, 2 015. Am es a l so p r ov i d e d

contact i nformation f or Crandall. The Feb r u a r y 9 , 2 01 5

photographs depicted Young Doc Bar with his foot still attached,

but with a severe laceration. One of the pictures also shows an


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injury to the back of the horse's right leg. Ames also sent eight

photographs he had taken with his phone on March 28, 2015. Those

photographs depicted Young Doc Bar's condition that day, including

his missing left front foot, which was a bloody stump, his body

condition with his r ibs and oth er bo nes p r otruding and th e

condition of his stall, which was full of feces.

7. Lt. Greydanus contacted Sammy Jo Hall at the phone number

provided by Ames, and set up an interview with her at the Law and

Justice Center. Lt Greydanus also contacted Mallory Crandall and

set up an interview with her.

8. At approximately 3:45 p.m., on March 30, 2015, Ames came to

the Law and Justice Center for an interview with Lt. Greydanus.

Ames stated he was at Kountz arena on March 28, 2015, with his

friend Hall, while she showed her horse at an event. While the

horse show was going on, Ames had the opportunity to walk back

into the stall area where other animals were kept. Ames told Lt.

Greydanus that the area was open to all show participants and he

did not see any "no trespassing" signs. I n the stall area, Ames

observed a sick calf and a horse laying down that did not move.

Ames described the horse as a dark colored paint with white spots,

approximately 15 to 16 ha nds tall. The horse was an i n tact

stallion. Ames stated the stallion appeared very underweight and

he rated the horse's body condition as around a 2 or a 3, on a

scale of 1 to 10. Ames informed Lt. Greydanus that he worked with

a rescue organization in Washington, called Hope for Horses, for

the past seven to eight years and was currently a board member of


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the organization. Ames ex plained the organization focuses on

extreme cases of horse abuse and neglect and has handled over 100

h orses since h e jo i ned th e organization. Ames i n formed L t .

Greydanus that the horse show o n Marc h 2 8, 2 0 15 , wa s pu t on by

Summit Show Management and the woman in charge of the show was Amy

Morgan. Ames knew the Defendant was the owner of Kountz Arena, but

had never personally met him and ha d n e v e r be e n t o t he p r op e r t y

before, When asked about the calf, Ames explained the calf was

located across the aisle from the paint stallion, i n a p e n . Am e s

stated the calf looked very sick, was laying down in its own feces

and did not move from where it was laying the whole time he was

there. Ames stated he did not know a lot about cows, but believed

the calf looked about four or five weeks old. Ames was also able

identify other people who were a t t h e sh ow a nd o b se r v e d the

i nju red ho r s e .

9. At approximately 4:35 p.m. o n Marc h 3 0, 2 0 1 5, L t . Gr eyd a n u s

met with Mallory Crandall at the Law and Justice Center. Crandal l

informed Lt. Greydanus that she h a s u se d t he Ko un t z Ar e n a f o r

riding in the winter months and also boarded her horse there but

removed it during the summer of 2013 due to inadequate care and

watering. Crandall indentified the five photographs Lt. Greydanus

received from Ames as being taken by her on Fe b r u a r y 9 , 201 5 .

Crandall stated she noticed the Defendant's big stud horse, Young

Doc Bar, in a stall when she was there riding her horse at the

arena and noticed his leg was badly injured. Crandall stated she

did not report the horse at that time because she could not tell


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how old th e injury wa s a nd thought it could have r ecently

occurred. Crandall stated in her experience with the facility,

she has seen animals received medical care a nd s ome n o t r e ce i v e

care. Crandall recalled an incident from approximately a year

before where a h o rse had been injured in a trailer accident.

Crandall stated she took a l ot o f pi ctures o f t h e h or s e a nd

consulted with a vet and learned it would be expensive to care for

the horse. Crandall attempted to get the horse from the Defendant

and offered to take it and provide it care, but the Defendant

refused. Crandall believed the horse either died or was put down.

Crandall stated she never saw Young Doc Bar's injured leg wrapped

in anything, but thought she saw it sprayed with blue antiseptic

spray. C randall recalled seeing Young Doc Bar before his injury

a nd d e s c r i b e d h i m a s a "big fat happy horse." Crandall also

described the injury to the horse's r i gh t l e g , wh i ch wa s l es s

serious, but appeared infected and swollen on Feb r u a r y 9 , 2 015 .

Crandall stated she saw Young Doc Bar t he w e e k b e f o r e he wa s

reported to law enforcement. She stated she was surprised to see

h im st i l l a l i v e , bu t wa s un ab l e t o t ake a n y p i c t u r e s a nd wa s

concerned about making a report without pictures. She s t a t e d h e

did not have a foot at that time and his body condition was very ,

v ery p o o r .

10. On March 3 0, 20 15, a t a p proximately 5 :3 3 p . m . , L t .

Greydanus met with Samantha Jo Hall at the Law and Justice Center.

Hall informed Lt. Greydanus that she is currently employed by

Copper Spring's Ranch as a horse trainer and was at the Kountz


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Arena on March 28, 2015, showing her horse and was accompanied by

Ames. She stated that while the show was going on, she had the

opportunity to walk around and into an area with other stalls and

animals. Hall stated she observed a horse that had lost his foot,

laying down on the floor in one of the stalls. Hall stated the

horse's body had a number of sores on it. Hall i n formed Lt.

Greydanus that it did not seem like the horse was fed properly and

he appeared dehydrated and h is l eg wa s swo llen, bloody and

appeared infected. Hall stated she and Ames took pictures of the

horse and t a lked w ith oth er peo ple at the event ab out th e

condition o f the horse . Hal l recognized the horse as the

Defendant's stallion, Young Doc Bar, and stated he had open sores

everywhere and his skin was sucked into his bones. Ha ll stated

word got out q uickly about the h orse and the a nnouncer, Amy

Morgan, asked everyone to stay away. Hall stated that she saw the

Sheriff's Deputy (Deputy Vranish) arrive at the arena, and soon

after, two Kountz workers showed up and started cleaning the stall

and putting a wrap on the horses stump. H all stated she observed

all of this and noted nothing was done to c lean to wound or

disinfect it before it was wrapped. Two workers then put a halter

on the stallion and started working to get him up. Ha ll stated

she watched this and the w orkers did not v iolently kick the

stallion, but they were using their feet to kind of kick him and

urge him to get up. Hall also videoed Young Doc Bar being led out

of the building and loaded into a horse trailer. H a ll stated no

one did anything for the calf which was across the aisle from the


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horse.

ll. On Marc h 31, 2015, Lt. Greydanus received a call from

Aimee Wheeler who stated she had been an employee at Kountz Arena

and had i n formation regarding Young Doc Bar's i njury. Lt .

Greydanus arranged to meet Wheeler at the Law and Justice Center

at 1:00 p.m. that afternoon.

12. A t approximately 9:42 a .m. o n March 3 1, 20 15, L t.

Greydanus contacted the Defendant. Lt . Gr eydanus informed the

Defendant of the ongoing investigation and requested the Defendant

provide pho tographs p ro ving th e hors e and calf had been

euthanized. Th e D efendant agreed to e-mai l Lt . Greydanus

photographs. The De fendant also s tated h e had spoken t o an

attorney, who advised him not to make any statements. Sho rtly

after the phone call, Lt. Greydanus received an e-mail from the

Defendant with photographs confirming the horse and calf had been

e uthan i z e d .

13. A t approximately 1:14 p .m. o n March 31 , 2 015 , L t .

Greydanus met with Wheeler at the Law and Justice Center. Wheeler

told Lt. Greydanus that she placed an ad on Craig's List looking

for a job working with horses. S he was contacted by Cody Kountz

who told her his dad could use some help. W h eeler contacted the

Defendant who hired her towards the end of January 2015. Wheeler

stated she only worked at Kountz Arena for a couple weeks and only

once or twice a week. Wheeler stated on her first day she had to

clean the stall o f t h e Defendant's stallion, Young Doc B ar .

Wheeler stated the stalls were disgusting and the stallion was


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standing in feces and urine. Wheeler told Lt. Greydanus that most

of the horses moved out of the way while she cleaned stalls, but

the stallion was unable to move. Wheeler stated the horse was

holding one leg off the ground and was unable to put weight on it.

Wheeler told Lt. Greydanus that the horse's leg was swollen to

about three times its n o rmal size . When Whe eler asked the

Defendant about the horse, he told her that the horse got hung up

in some panels in December while the Defendant was out of town.

The Defendant told Wheeler he wanted to see if the leg would heal,

but he thought the leg was beyond fixable. Whe eler stated the

Defendant wanted to see if the horse could still be used as a

stud. Wheeler told Lt. Greydanus that the horse was in the same

stall when she was working there as the stall he was observed in

and photographed in on March 28, 2015. Wheeler stated her last day

working at Kountz Arena was February 6, 2015. Wheeler stated she

never saw the horse moved from the stall and never saw his injury

bandaged in anyway. Wheeler stated she did see a blue or purple

spray on it once or twice. Whee ler never saw a ve terinarian

treating the horse. While she was working at Kountz Arena, Wheeler

s tated the horse got w o rse; he w as dr opping weight and n o t

drinking, Wheeler also told Lt. Greydanus that the horse appeared

to be in pain. Wheeler told Lt. Greydanus she was hired to work

with a 3 year old horse, but the horse's feet were so bad he had

p roblems walking and sh e co uld n o t d o any t raining on hi m.

W heeler quit due to the con ditions and ne ver r e turned. Lt .

Greydanus asked Wheeler why she never reported the condition of


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Young Doc Bar to animal control. Wheeler stated she had reported

animal abuse in Washington and nothing was done about it. Wheeler

also added that the Defendant scared her.

14. On April 1, 2015 , at approximately 7 :28 a .m. , L t .

Greydanus met with Dr. Gary Cook at All West Veterinary Clinic.

Dr. Cook told Lt . Gre ydanus that he h as b een a practicing

veterinarian for 35 years. Dr. Cook stated he became involved with

the case when he was called by a Gallatin County Sheriff's Deputy

to respond to Kountz arena on Narch 28, 2015. Dr . Cook stated he

had a phone conversation with the Defendant prior to a rr i v i n g a t

the arena. The Defendant told Dr. Cook he had been treating the

horse. T h e Defendant also told Dr. Cook that the calf got his

head stuck in a fence. After examining both the horse a nd t h e

calf at K o untz Arena, Dr . Cook det ermined b oth ne ed t o b e

euthanized. Dr . Cook called the Defendant and informed the

Defendant of his conclusion and the Defendant stated he would

euthanize the animals when he got home that evening.

15. Dr . Co o k ex p l a i ne d h i s examination of the horse to Lt.

Greydanus. D r . Cook picked up the left foot and noted the hoof

was gone and the bottom of the leg was a mass of tissue which felt

moist. Dr. Cook stated the D efendant told him the h orse was

treated, but Dr. Cook wished he had seen the horse sooner . Dr .

Cook was not sure if he would have been able to save the horse's

foot, but knew he could have helped the animal considerable, or

humanely euthanized him. Dr . Cook did not know the time frame of

the injury, but after being informed it o ccurred sometime in


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December of 2 014, Dr . Cook believed that time line would be

correct for the tissue to be void of blood supply and the foot to

fall off. Dr . Coo k d i d no t k now how the h o rse was treated

initially, but stated that type of injury would require aggressive

treatment to save the foot. Lt . Greydanus asked Dr. Cook about

receiving calls from owners with injured animals and giving advice

over the phone. D r . Cook stated he would want to see the animal

to provide treatment recommendations, because it is ha r d to

determine the amount of damage done over the phone.

16. Lt . Greydanus showed Dr. Cook the photographs taken of

Young Doc Bar ' s i n j u r y on Feb r u ar y 9 , 2 01 5 . Dr . Coo k de s cr i be d

the injury as a severe laceration in the pastern area of the leg,

from the fetlock down. Dr. Cook was unable to determine, based on

the photographs, if the laceration went all the way around the

leg, but guessed it did due to the foot sloughing off. Dr . Cook

explained that if he were to see the horse in that condition, he

would be concerned the horse was losing feeling in the foot. If

it was determined the horse was losing feeling in the foot, Dr.

Cook stated the horse should be euthanized at that time. Dr. Cook

stated if he could determine the nerves were intact in the foot on

February 9, 2015, he would have recommended disinfecting the area,

bandaging it or even placing a cast on the leg to immobilize the

foot. Dr . Cook stated the horse definitely needed veterinary

treatment. D r. Cook agreed the horse would be in pain, but did

state the Defendant mentioned providing pain killers to the horse.

Dr. Cook reiterated he would have wanted to see the horse. Dr .


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Cook was surprised when Lt. Greydanus informed him that none of

the witnesses reported ever seeing the horse's foot bandaged. D r.

Cook stated one of the first things that should have been done was

to bandage the foot. Dr . C ook also looked at pictures of the

injury to the horse's right leg and stated he examined that leg on

March 28, 2015. Dr . Cook believed that injury would be healable.

Dr. Cook did not do a full examination on the horse, but did state

the horse appeared thin. Dr. Cook informed Lt. Greydanus that he

checked the records at the Clinic and confirmed Young Doc Bar was

never treated there. Dr. Cook stated the injury to the horse

should have been addressed a couple of months ago.

17. Dr . Coo k a lso briefly examined the calf on March 28,

2015. Dr . Cook stated the calf was almost neurologic acting and

appeared to almost be having seizures, which he explained could be

from an injury or a toxin. Dr. Cook stated the calf was comatose

when he saw him and Dr. Cook told the Defendant the calf needed to

b e eu t h a n i z e d .

18. A fter meeting with Dr. Gary Cook, Lt. Greydanus met

with Dr. Jacy Cook, at All West Veterinary Clinic. Dr. Jacy Cook

did not recall ever receiving a call from the Defendant regarding

the horse; however, he stated it was common for ranchers to call

for advice without bringing an animal into the clinic. Dr . Jacy

Cook di d sta ted the C lin ic's records showed a tube of

Phenylbutazone, a pain killer, sold to the Defendant in December,

but no record of what animal the pain killer was for. Dr . Jacy

Cook examined photographs of Young Doc Bar, but could not fully


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diagnose the injury without seeing it in person. In looking at

t he F e b r u a r y 9 , 2 01 5 p i c t u r e s , Dr. Jacy Cook stated with proper

diagnose the injury could be treated, but also stated he would

have liked to have the horse brought to a vet for treatment.

19. On Ap r i l 2 , 2 0 15 , at approximately 8:55 a .m. , L t .

Greydanus conducted an interview with Amy Morgan, owner of Summit

Horsemanship and Show Management. Morgan stated she rented the

Kountz ar e n a f o r a h o r se show on M a r c h 2 8, 2 01 5 . During m os t o f

t he s h ow , M o r g a n stated she was in the " crow' s n est " ann o u n c i n g

for the show and not in the arena. Morgan told Lt. Greydanus that

Hall showed her a picture of the paint stallion. After seeing the

p hotogr a ph , Mo r g a n sa i d s he sent a text message t o Cod y K o u n tz

that there was an injured horse in the back. Cody Kount z d i d n o t

a nswer h e r t ex t me ss a g e ; h ow e v e r , she did receive a text message

from the Defendant around noon which stated "I have a ho rs e t h at

lost a foot back with my horses and someone took a picture and put

it on Facebook. I blocked that area off, they shouldn't have been

back there. A nnounce for people to stay the hell out of there."

Morgan told the Defendant she would announce that the horse was

under medical care and needs quiet. Lt. Greydanus confirmed with

Morgan that Young Doc Bar was not in an area that was c losed o f f

to the public. Mor gan informed Lt. Greydanus i t wa s he r h o r se

trailer that was used to move the horse; however, s he assumed t h e y

were moving the horse's body with loading equipment and taking it

to be buried somewhere. At t he end o f t he sh o w s he lea rned t h e

horse had been forced up and loaded into the horse trailer. Morgan


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stated she never actually saw Young Doc Bar, but she did see the

calf. Morgan told Lt. Greydanus that at the end o f t h e sh o w sh e

was c l e an in g u p a n d ob s e r ved t he calf in a pen in the s ta l l s .

Morgan stated the calf had not been removed with the horse, and

was still alive, but was non-responsive and breathing very rapidly

and s l o w l y .

2 0 . On Ap r i l 8 , 2 01 5 , a t a pproximately 3:32 p .m., Lt .

Greydanus met with Kristie Townsend at the Law and Justice Center.

Townsend informed Lt. Greydanus that she participated in the horse

show a t Kou n t z A r e n a on M arch 2 8, 2 01 5 . Town s e n d s tate d sh e

arrived at the arena around 7:15 a.m. a nd was i n t h e ar ea wh e r e

the animal pens ar e lo cated. Townsend st a t ed sh e a sked a n

employee to turn some lights on for her and the lights were turned

on for a short period of time and then turned off. Townsend

believed the lights were turned off to hide the animals in the

pens. Townsend stated a friend alerted her to the injured horse

in the pen and she went to look at it. Townsend noticed the calf

laying down in the pen, but did not pay much attention to him at

first. Townsend stated it took a moment for her to r egi s t e r wha t

she was seeing when she looked at the horse. Townsend s t a t e d t h e

horse had no foot, part of his leg bone was ex p o sed a n d h e wa s

"horrible, horrible skinny". Townsend noted there was little to no

bedding in the horse's stall and manure everywhere. The only time

she sa w t h e h o r s e s t an d wa s wh e n t wo m en, wh o s he a s su med w e r e

employees of the Defendant, force the horse to get up. Townsend

stated the area was not blocked off and there were n o t an y " n o


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trespassing" signs. Tow nsend also stated she has shown a t t h e

arena numerous times and always been able to freely walk around.

Townsend told Lt. Greydanus that she witnessed the employees pull

the horse up and walk him out to the trailer and she yelled at

them for making him walk because she could see how much pain the

horse was in. Townsend stated it was obvious the horse could not

walk and was in a lot of pain. Townsend also stated she could see

the calf throughout the day. Townsend stated she went over to talk

to the calf and one time he made a movement his front leg, but she

never saw him move his back legs. Townsends stated she tried to

call animal control, but got a message that the Animal Control

Officer was on medical leave. Townsend stated at that point Sarah

Tharpe called l aw enforcement, bu t called in anonymously.

Townsend told Lt. Greydanus she took a short video of the calf and

pictures of both the horse and calf. All of which she provided to

Lt. Greydanus. Townsend stated people thought the calf was dead,

but she could see him breathing, and thought he appeared very

sick. Townsend told Lt. Greydanus that she had received a Facebook

post to her from Kaylee Kountz, the daughter of the Defendant, but

Townsend did not know Kaylee. The message stated the horse had

been injured in December and that the calf had been injured about

a week ago, but was completely normal on March 27, 2015, but that

the calf and horse should have been put down,

2 1. The State contacted D r. Ted V lahos, D . V .M., f o r

assistance in reviewing the case. Dr . Vlahos owns and operates

Rocky Mountain Equine Hospital, which has offices in Billings,


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Montana and Sheridan and Cody, Wyoming. Dr . Vlahos h o l d s a

Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, a Master of Science in Animal

Science, Equine Nutrition, and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine

from the Ohio State University (1988). In 1 9 97, Dr. Vlahos was

c ertified as an equ ine s pecialist by t he American Board o f

Veterinary Practitioners, and currently serves on the Board of

Regents. Dr . Vl ahos has received advanced training in equine

fracture repair and arthroscopic surgery. Dr . Vlahos specializes

in severe equine leg injuries and has pioneered work in equine

amputation and prosthetics. Dr . V l ahos reviewed the case and

photographs of Young Doc Bar and submitted a report to the County

Attorney's Office on May 18, 2015. Dr . Vlahos concluded, after a

review of the reports and photographs that the horse suffered an

avascular injury to th e l imb, which resulted in n ecrosis and

subsequent sloughing of the distal limb. Based on the photographs

from March 28, 2015, D r. Vlahos stated it w as re a sonable to

conclude that the limb had fallen off several weeks prior to the

photograph being taken. In Dr. Vlahos's opinion, the only option

for the horse was amputation and prosthesis or euthanasia. Dr .

Vlahos found the case clearly falls under cruelty to animals and

stated "nothing could be more obvious and serious as a horse that

loses its limb. The fai lure to p rovide medical care from a

licensed veterinarian in the case of catastrophic failure of the

limb as in th i s ca se cl early represents inhumane and c ruel

treatment of the horse."

22, The Defendant was convicted of the offense of Cruelty


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to Animals, in violation of Section 45-8-211, MCA, in the Gallatin

County Justice Court on August 19, 1999.

Based on the foregoing facts, the undersigned moves the court

for leave to file an Information charging the Defendant with the

offenses of Count I : Aggravated Animal Cruelty, a F e l o n y , i n

violation of Section 45-8-217, MCA; In the Alternative to Count I:

Count II: Cruelty to Animals, S econd o r su b s eq u e n t o f f en se , a

Felony, in violation of Section 45-8-211, MCA; and Count III:

Cruelty to Animals, second or subsequent o f f en se , a F e l o ny , i n

violation of Section 45-8-211, MCA.

DATED this I 7 day o f W o 2015.

E r1n R . M ur p yDeputy County Attorney

SUBSCRI and S WORN2015 .

t o b e f o r e me on thi s d ay o f

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