QUILCENE –– Four horses seized by Jefferson County Animal Control Officer Deputy Alex Mintz in March have recovered from starvation and dehydration and are ready to be adopted, said the director of the rescue center that has cared for them.
“They’ve really made a terrific turnaround,” said Sara Penhallegon, director of Center Valley Animal Rescue, 11900 Center Road near Quilcene.
“Now we just need somebody to open their homes to them.”
Penhallegon has listed the horses — Page, Tiger’s Heart, Star and B1 — on Petfinder, www.petfinder.com, along with other animals at the rescue center.
Center Valley Animal Rescue’s adoptable pets also are listed on the facility’s website, www.centervalleyanimalrescue.org.
Meanwhile, Leonard Sarin, who owned the seized horses, is scheduled for a pretrial hearing on second-degree animal-cruelty charges in Jefferson County District Court next Wednesday, June 19.
Mintz seized the horses March 28 at 187 Covington Drive, Chimacum, after receiving reports that they were starving.
The oldest of the horses is a thoroughbred mare named Page.
The horse has made a remarkable recovery, Penhallegon said.
“She was so skinny when we got her,” Penhallegon said. “It’s amazing to see how she’s recovered.
Page, estimated at 25 years old, is ready for adoption but will need to go to a home that can give her the special attention that an elderly horse needs, Penhallegon said.
Page is being kept in a separate pen at Penhallegon’s facility. So is Tiger’s Heart, an 8-year-old gelding, listed as a quarterhorse and thoroughbred who was not trained to be around humans.
The gelding also needed special treatment at the rescue center, Penhallegon said, and will need tender attention when adopted.
His teeth were seriously decayed and sharpened, and his hair had matted into “dreadlocks.”
“But since we’ve fixed that, he’s just blossomed,” Penhallegon said.
Page and Tiger’s Heart are on special diets to improve their digestive systems, she said.
The two teenage quarterhorse mares, Star and B-1, are being kept in a larger pasture at Center Valley along with several other horses awaiting adoption.
They are eating the usual diet of hay.
In total, Penhallegon has 16 horses at the rescue facility, including two wild stallions who were recovered from a property in Beaver Valley.
Sarin faces second-degree animal-cruelty charges, a gross misdemeanor.
The horses had been kept on a 5-acre plot he had been renting.
According to Mintz’s report, the Sheriff’s Office received a report of the horses looking malnourished in March.
Mintz previously told the Peninsula Daily News he had seen the horses in January, and they looked healthy at that time.
The center runs entirely on donations, with 30 volunteers helping tend to the roster of rescued animals.
Visiting hours are the first Friday of each month from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
To volunteer, donate or for more information, visit the center’s website, phone 360-765-0598 or email sara@centervalleyanimalrescue.org.
Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Joe Smillie can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or at jsmillie@peninsuladailynews.com.
