Clatskanie woman accused of dragging horse behind truck, leading to euthanasia

Warning: The following story contains graphic description of animal abuse

COLUMBIA COUNTY Ore. (KPTV) - A woman faces multiple counts of animal abuse after authorities say she dragged a horse from her truck multiple times, leading to the horse being euthanized.

According to court documents filed in Columbia County, the incidents took place earlier this month in Clatskanie.

One neighbor reported seeing 67-year-old Jo Marie Westlind dragging her horse, Domingo, who was tied to her the back of her truck.

Westlind allegedly dragged the horse down her driveway, across the street, and into another driveway.

In court documents, the neighbor described seeing the horse’s front leg trapped in the rope it was tethered to, being dragged on its knees, and “squealing” in pain.

The neighbor said Westlind then backed up from the second driveway, “pushing” the horse out of the way with the truck’s rear bumper, before dragging the horse back into her driveway.

When confronted by the neighbor, Westlind reportedly told him she was training the horse to “load,” and telling the neighbor to “mind his business.”

Another witness reported seeing Westlind leading the horse by the reigns with her arm out the truck window, dragging the horse up and down the driveway and from one property to another.

The witness told investigators that on one of the trips Westlind did not return with the horse, and later texted him that the horse was at the vet.

Authorities were alerted to the incident by a veterinarian who Westlind took the horse to. The vet was forced to euthanize the horse due to the injuries.

According to the court documents, the horse had injuries consistent with being dragged behind a moving car, including severe abrasions to the face, legs, chest, and side - in some cases penetrating the muscle and bone.

Pictures submitting as evidence allegedly show the horse’s hooves, which were unshod, ground down to the skin in some areas.

Westlind allegedly told the vet that the injuries were an “accident,” and that “alcohol was involved.”

During an investigation, Columbia County Sheriff’s Office deputies noted another horse and a mule on Westlind’s property, both of which were shod.

Deputies contacted Westlind on Monday, June 15, and she was taken into custody.

Westlind was charged with four counts of first-degree animal abuse, two counts of aggravated animal abuse, and two counts of first-degree animal neglect, and booked into the Columbia County Jail.