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Sick Horse Left To Die In Sacramento County

EL DORADO COUNTY (CBS13) - A criminal case of animal abuse was uncovered in Sacramento County after a horse near death was left to die a terrible death.

"To me it's the equivalent of robbing a dying person," said Beth DeCaprio, founder of The Grace Foundation of Northern California.

A local animal rescue group is seeing an increase in this cruel crime.

There are more than 160 rescued horses at the Grace Foundation, but there is one disturbing case that stands out, and she's part of a growing crime.

"Obviously this horse was left to die," said Beth.

Covered by a shaggy coat, the horse is skin and bones and sick to the point of being unable to eat.

"She's clearly starving. As soon as you put her in a stall, if it's shaving or straw whatever, she's getting mouthfuls, but can't swallow," said Dr. Mike Russell, a large animal veterinarian.

The two-year-old mare was discovered Monday, the same day she was dumped on Sacramento County land.

"You can see the scissor marks," said Beth.

Someone even cut off the sick horse's hair, maybe an effort to make a few dollars.

Despite receiving care, the horse is showing only slight improvement.

"Unfortunately I don't think the prognosis is good. We going to give her a chance see what we can do with her," said Mike.

"Unfortunately we're seeing a lot of horses abandoned. Last year we had 24 abandoned horses," said Beth.

Only three weeks into the New Year, the Grace Foundation has already taken in three abandoned horses.

"Sadly, right now hay prices are double what they were last year," said Beth.

Members of the animal rescue asking the community to keep an eye out for anyone abandoning animals.

"If this person was to be found, this would be felony cruelty charges," said Beth.

It's an act that's not only criminal, but cruel.

"I can't imagine. What's scary is the person who was able to do this is in our community," said Beth.

It will be couple of days before its known if this girl will survive. That's something whoever dumped the animal clearly didn't care about.

The medical care to give the filly even a chance at life is expensive. The Grace Foundation is a non-profit caring for hundreds of rescued animals.

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