According to the Parker County Sheriff's Office in Arizona, a caretaker accused of not providing food or water in the deaths of nine horses has been arrested on a warrant for cruelty to non-livestock animals.
Linda Kay Pharis, 53, posted $1,500 bond shortly after noon Thursday, 9/1/2011, and was released, according to Parker County Jail records.
In mid August, eight horses were found dead on the property when a neighbor reported horses without food and water to the sheriff's office. Another horse was euthanized by a veterinarian who said that lack of water and food most likely led to the deaths of the horses.
The veterinarian reported that no water was available on the property and the forage was inadequate to sustain the horses found in the pasture. At least one horse had been dead for up to three days according to the arrest affidavit.
The owner of the horses, Keith Hall, a former Arizona race track owner and promoter was arrested on August 19, 2011.
According to Pharis, she told Hall that the horses looked bad and she wanted to give them some hay, but Hall told her not to and said they would be all right until he returned in a week, according to the complaint.
Another man who worked for Hall also complained to him about the condition of the horses days prior to the horses being found dead, according to the sheriff's affidavit.