A Bigfork man has been charged with animal cruelty after his neighbor’s horse got stuck in a fence and died last August.
Serra Valentine says she had asked her neighbor, Gary Cuthbertson, 80, to watch her horses last August when she traveled to California to tend to her dying father. But Cuthbertson said there was “no agreement of any kind” between the two neighbors and that he’s innocent.
Valentine had owned the horse, a Palomino named Romeo, for four years and said that he was a “perfect animal.” Last August she found out that her father had fallen ill and she needed to travel to Hollywood, Calif. to care for him. Just before leaving Bigfork, she says she asked her neighbor, Cuthbertson, to watch her horses and that Cuthbertson said he would call if there were any issues.
A few days later, early on the morning of Aug. 22, Cuthbertson was leaving his house to go fishing when he noticed that Romeo was upside-down with one of his legs stuck in a fence. Cuthbertson called Valentine in California and left a message. Cuthbertson said he called again an hour later.
Valentine got the message when she woke up and frantically called family members and neighbors to get help to her horse. Help arrived about two hours later and Romeo was taken to a local veterinarian but by then too much liquid had gathered in his lungs and he died.
Valentine said had Cuthbertson done more to help, Romeo might be alive today.
“He could have woken up the neighbors, he could have called 911, he could have called animal control, he could have done a lot of things,” she said. “Early intervention would have saved Romeo… (Cuthbertson) had a responsibility.”
But Cuthbertson said there was never an agreement between the two neighbors other than that he would call Valentine if something happened to the horses.
After the incident, Cuthbertson was charged with animal cruelty. If convicted, he could face up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. After being charged last week, Cuthbertson was offered a plea deal of a $100 fine and a deferred six-month sentence but he declined the offer.
“If I was guilty that would be a great deal, but I’m not guilty, she’s just after money,” Cuthbertson said.
The case is set to go to a jury trial on July 24.