HANOVER COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — An equine veterinarian is speaking out after treating a horse who was shot in the face in Hanover County.
The Hanover County Sheriff’s Office arrested two men on Dec. 5 in connection to an incident on Oct. 17 in which an American Paint horse named Jake was shot between his eye and jaw.
Lindsay Neist, with Virginia Equine PLLC in Goochland County, said she got a call from the family to check the horse out before it was even determined he had been shot.
“By the time I got there the owner was suspicious that it had been a gunshot wound,” said Neist. “She had found kind of a trail of blood and someone had heard a gunshot the night before.”
Neist said she did a physical exam and radiographs, where she found bullet debris. She found that Jake’s teeth had been damaged, too.
“It was insane really. I mean you… every now and then you will show up to a call and someone thinks a horse has been shot and it’s almost never the case,” she said. “The horse still had blood, but he was not bleeding out. He was a lot more comfortable than you might think. He was still trying to eat and things like that. So, he was a tough guy.”
Jake was transported to the Blue Ridge Equine Clinic in Charlottesville and underwent multiple surgeries to repair and reconstruct his sinus cavity and dental structure.
The day after the shooting, Hanover County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the family’s home, on the 11200 block of Cauthorne Road, to investigate. Later, on Dec. 5, deputies arrested Jacob Brady, 20, of Richmond, and Robert Kelley Jr., 18, of North Chesterfield and charged them with the shooting.
After the arrests, investigators were able to connect the two men to the shootings of multiple mailboxes along Greenwood Road.
“I’m grateful that they were caught,” said Neist. “Now that they found these guys, it’s cruel for no reason other than to be cruel. It’s disgusting to think someone would like purposely do that which is hard to believe but was the case.”
Brady and Kelly are being held at the Pamunkey Regional Jail and have both been charged with the following:
- Shooting a firearm from a vehicle
- Attempted maiming or killing of livestock
- Maiming or killing of livestock
- Maliciously shooting at an occupied building
- General cruelty to animals
- Conspiracy to main or kill livestock
- Destruct of less than $1,000 of property with intent
Neist said Jake is still battling an infection, but hopes he can recover soon.
“I feel really good for the horse and for the family,” she said.
