Sweetwater – A Graham County woman is still seeking some answers after her horse was attacked by dogs last month.
On Nov. 2, Lottie Miller went out into her pasture near the corner of Old Sweetwater Road and T.J. Wilson Road to find her horse – Kamali – injured, with lacerations to its muzzle and lip, as well as to his left front leg.
However, she did not see the animal that caused the damage.
A second horse on the land – as well as goats, chickens and other animals – were not harmed.
“We fed them in the morning and they were fine, and then we came back in the afternoon and found my horse bleeding,” Miller said.
After calling her veterinarian to treat the horse’s injuries and warning a neighboring livestock owner, she saw two dogs on her property and called the Graham County Sheriff’s Office.
She said she believed the dogs belonged to a resident of a camper park further down Old Sweetwater Road.
“Dogs run around all the time,” Miller said. “I have never had any dog attacking my horse, but obviously it was (a dog).
“I went out on the back porch and started screaming and waving my arms and then they turned around and ran back.
Graham County Sheriff Jerry Crisp confirmed that the sheriff’s office had responded, but said that the dogs were not found.
“He got out there and there were no dogs around, and he told her that he was going to try to find the dogs and then see if he could determine the owner of the dogs,” Crisp said. “He went through the entire neighborhood, the entire community: never saw any dogs.”
Despite the deputy being unable to locate the animals responsible, Miller lauded the sheriff’s office for its response following the incident.
“I really appreciated how fast they responded,” Miller said.
Graham County has no official animal control agency, with those duties falling under the purview of the sheriff’s office.
However, it is up to the health department to declare an animal dangerous.
“It’s very limited because there is no leash law in the county,” Crisp said. “It just primarily deals with dangerous animals.”
Crisp also said animal calls were not uncommon. He emphasized that under the law, livestock owners had a legal right to shoot any dog or other animal harming their stock.
Miller said that Kamali was doing fine after the veterinarian stitched her wounds back together. However, the attack left Miller with a vet bill of more than $1,500.
She is also in the process of installing an electric fence.
“I was shocked,” Miller said. “I know we have stray dogs coming around now and then, but they’re usually more afraid of people than anything.
“I have never had a dog attack my horse, ever.”