Creek County Deputies Investigating Animal Abuse Case

Creek County deputies are investigating after they said they found five starving animals at a property west of Sapulpa.

An incident report said a neighbor called 911 after seeing a starving pony, without any food or water, collapse seven times in just 45 minutes last week.

A concerned neighbor near the property on South 161st West avenue in Sapulpa had tried to care for the starving animals for months, according to an incident report.

"A neighbor called the sheriff's office and reported some horses appeared to not be fed or given water," said Fred Clark, the Creek County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy.

Clark said a deputy went out and saw three extremely skinny ponies and two donkeys, and was told by a local vet they were "in very bad shape."

The report says the deputy returned a few hours, reporting that "a brown and white mare collapsed twice within 10 minutes."

"It couldn't hold itself up," said Clark. 

The report said the owners returned later that night. They said they couldn't afford to care for them and "they tried everything to get the weight back on and thought about asking for help."

A judge gave orders to take away the animals, according to the report.

 "We were able to get a hold of a local entity that came and assisted us," he said. "They took possession of the animals, and they're gonna be treated back into health."

Clark said all the animals are at a sale barn and are expected to survive. 

"[The neighbor] did the right thing by calling us and letting a deputy get out there to get them treated," Clark said. 

The Sheriff's Office said they're still investigating and no arrests have been made yet. They say the case has been forwarded to the DA's office.