County investigators are checking possible leads in their search for the owner of an emaciated horse that was found abandoned last week in a dry pasture just south of Santa Rosa.
The horse, a black gelding in his late 20s, was too deteriorated to survive and was put to death by a local veterinarian.
?People who have called in are indicating they may have seen the horse before,? said Dori Villalon, director of Sonoma County Animal Care and Control.
?It?s really a matter of trying to tie this all together,? she said.
Villalon said her office has received about a dozen calls from people with possible information related to the case.
Last week Michelle Helberg, the owner of Saddles to Boots, a local equestrian consignment shop, was on her way home when she came across the horse in a field near Todd and Stony Point roads.
It was tied to a barbed wire fence and had apparently spent the day with no food or water in near 100-degree heat.
Unable to determine the horse?s owner, Helberg and her son loaded the horse onto a trailer and took it to their home. A veterinarian later declared there was no hope for the animal.
Helberg and local horse rescuer Betsy Bueno have been raising money for a reward they hope will encourage people to identify the horse?s owner. Recent media reports about the incident have triggered contributions so far totaling more than $2,500.
Friday morning Ron Dreyer, a 76-year-old retired law enforcement officer, delivered a $1,000 check to Helberg?s consignment shop on Sebastopol Road.
?How anyone can do something like that to a horse incites me,? Dreyer said. ?I think somebody like that should be horse-whipped.?
Helberg said she?s received calls from people outside Sonoma County wanting to contribute money toward the reward.
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: