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| Animal treatment complaint levied against Prineville police officer |
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| Officer Joann Bauer has been credited with saving the lives of several animals |
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By Kate Wennerstrom
While she is normally responding to animal neglect cases, Prineville Police Sergeant JoAnn Bauer's horses were the cause of a recent complaint, leading to her friends and co-workers having to investigate the possible mistreatment of her own animals.
"I personally know JoAnn Bauer," Sheriff's Office Sergeant Russ Wright said. "She has assisted me with seized horses from the Sheriff's Office and has worked with those horses. I believe, personally, that she became a little overwhelmed and she never says `no'. People keep bringing animals to her and they are taking advantage of her kind-heartedness."
"She has more skill and ability to care for animals than most people who keep animals," Prineville Police Department Chief Eric Bush said. "This is always difficult when one of our own is accused of any type of misconduct. JoAnn has been a long-term, dedicated employee here at the Prineville Police Department for many years. She is committed to the community. I've seen her personally save the lives of animals that would have otherwise died."
At 9:17 a.m., on Monday morning, Sheriff's deputies responded to a complaint of neglected horses at 905 NE Barnes Butte Rd., Bauer's residence.
"Deputies found 22 horses, and sheep and goats on the 20-acre parcel," Wright said. "Deputies determined that some of the animals needed more care than they were receiving. They found both healthy weight animals and they found underweight animals that didn't look as healthy."
The ages of the horses vary from yearlings to senior adults in their 20s. The Sheriff's Office found that these horses were being fed, however extra care may not have been taken.
"The horses had food and water. The fact that there's no food and water has never been an issue, it's special care," Wright continued. "Obviously sometimes horses need to have special care, i.e., worming, the teeth floated and vaccinations. Special food supplements are a biggie and we're coming out of winter - it's a harder time of year. Age is also a factor. Older horses are very hard to keep up. They create a lot of extra care. Stud horses are harder to keep. There are a couple of those and they create more care."
Following procedures, deputies noted the health of the horses, took pictures and requested a veterinarian's suggestion.
"A veterinarian was contacted for a consultation with regards to the condition of the animals," Wright said. "It was determined by the veterinarian and the Sheriff's Office at this time (Thursday) that every attempt was going to be made to better the animals that needed extra attention."
The pictures and status of the horses were sent to the Crook County District Attorney's Office for evaluation as well.
"The district attorney's office is going to review the case and then they're going to get back to us as to the outcome," Wright continued. "The recommendation from me is that we continue to frequently monitor the progress of the animals. Obviously, if the progress doesn't show improvement, then further action will be sought after."
On Wednesday, Wheeler County District Attorney Thomas Cutsforth was contacted by the Crook County District Attorney's Office regarding this case.
"I haven't seen any of the files yet," Cutsforth said. "I was just contacted by the DA asking if I would handle the case. I don't know anything about it other than it involves horses and some kind of an animal neglect."
In a recent statement, Bush said, "We are aware that there recently was a complaint made against a citizen in the Crook County, who is employed as with the Prineville PD, regarding the personal care of animals in their possession. As with all complaints against our employees we will be conducting our own internal review of the matter."
Bauer, who was named the Prineville Police Department's 2006 Police Officer of the Year, has been "completely cooperative" with the advice made by the Sheriff's Office.
"We've done this on several occasions before, where we set them up on a work plan, we monitor it and they've all been successful," Wright said of similar animal neglect cases. "Her (Bauer's) recommendation was that she would like to see herself get down about 10 horses."
Bauer's efforts in the past few days have shown her commitment to the plan devised by the Sheriff's Office.
"The llamas are gone. The person who owns them came and got them," Wright said. "She had 22 horses. She's down to 18, and probably more of them are going to go. She's returning horses back to their owners with the recommendation of what needs to be done with them."
In addition to monitoring the animals that remain at Bauer's farm, the Sheriff's Office will also be supervising the horses that have left the premises.
"We know the location of all of the horses that have left the property and we are going to continue with their monitoring," Wright said. "Some of these are horses that people didn't want and versus turning a horse loose on BLM land, she took them. So are they under the law `rescue animals'? No. Did she rescue them? Yes."
Bauer could not be reached for comment. |
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