Posted on 03/29/2023 11:43:45 AM PDT by Red Badger
TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — A Bixby man wants justice for his miniature donkeys he says were shot to death at his Creek County property last week.
Dave Willhite spoke with NewsChannel 8 Monday, just days after he said he had to bury his donkeys of two decades, Pete and Patsy.
"I've raised them as my pets," said Willhite. "I know some people understand. Some people don't understand."
Willhite said he visited the property frequently, often taking time to sit and visit with his animals he described as being no more different for him than a dog or cat.
He said he also raised the two donkeys since Pete was a year old and Patsy was six months old.
Willhite said he didn't expect anything to come of keeping them at the property after having the donkeys in other locations over the years, but everything changed last Friday.
"Friday afternoon I got a call," said Willhite. "Came out, they had been both shot."
Willhite said he could clearly see that Pete had been shot, but that examining Patsy's injuries proved to be more difficult.
"Patsy, we could not find a puncture wound, but she had also been chewed up by coyotes a little bit," said Willhite.
NewsChannel 8 reached out to the Creek County Sheriff's Office for comment on the investigation.
Chief Deputy Fred Clark told NewsChannel 8 that the investigation was ongoing, but had been made difficult by the amount that Pete and Patsy's bodies had decomposed before the investigation could begin.
Clark said that the investigation isn't closed, but that moving forward could be difficult without additional witnesses coming forward.
NewsChannel 8 also reached out to the Oklahoma Alliance For Animals, in hopes of getting more context from an animal cruelty expert on how Willhite's case compared to other Oklahomans.
"It's shocking, it's shocking, it's very sad," said Oklahoma Alliance For Animals Cruelty Case Coordinator Ruth Steinberger. "[The person responsible] can face cruelty charges, and in Oklahoma that's a felony."
Both Steinberger and Willhite agreed that the person or people responsible are unlikely to come forward, but believe someone has to know something.
Willhite said he's also offering a $10,000 reward for anyone with information that could lead to an arrest.
"They're my babies," said Willhite. "I'm not rich... but they're my babies. I'm not gonna put a dollar figure on them. If somebody guaranteed me they could get [the person responsible] I'd pay $20,000 to get this sucker."
If anyone has information that could help, they're asked to call the Creek County Sheriff's Office at 918-224-2964 and ask for Sergeant James Pruitt.
Willhite and his family can also be contacted at the following numbers to give more information:
918-943-6174
918-752-7963
918-805-4048
918-527-4504
How much damage can a miniature donkey do? They probably just roam and eat and occasionally bray. A decent fence should keep them in. An electric fence inside the barrier would teach them to keep their distance from the main fence too. Maybe they got into the neighbor’s cabbage patch but if I had to guess, probably just some cruel person went target practicing.
“How much damage can a miniature donkey do?”
Well, I imagine if a miniature donkey decided to bite or kick your kid, you wouldn’t be so dismissive of the idea that people might get annoyed at them.
Sounds like that little goat likes the attention!
So did Jefferson Airplane!
I see what you did there! Banshees of the Insershin
I think he did too until he got stuck in the middle of the night and had to sleep in his own crap until my daughter got up.
They are kind of sweet. She walks them on a leash like dogs and they ride in the back seat of the truck. :-)
They are so cute. What nasty person could do such a thing?
Yeahoos and thugs sometimes ride out into the country and shoot livestock for practice and to get a feel for killing.
Sure. But unless I misread, these animals were kept fenced in on private property. I wouldn’t trespass or let my children do the same. And if you are going to feed a horse or similar genus of animal there is a right way and wrong way, but alas no risk-free way. You could lose a finger or break a leg (depending on how you fed it).
I don’t know about miniature donkeys, but the full-sized ones make an obnoxious braying sound sometimes going on for hours at a time. Look for a neighbor who is complaining of lack of sleep. You may just find your culprit.
You beat me to the post. If a house nearby catches on fire we'll know who the donkey killer is.
Miniature donks are the best! But this little statement doesn’t make sense to me.
“Chief Deputy Fred Clark told NewsChannel 8 that the investigation was ongoing, but had been made difficult by the amount that Pete and Patsy’s bodies had decomposed before the investigation could begin”
It says someone called him to let him know something was wrong. If the donkeys were decomposed, how long had it been since he was out there to check on them?
Are you familiar with 2 Samuel 12:3+++?
I don’t know why I don’t like that passage. That poor lamb....
One had been partially eaten by ‘coyotes’ or possibly buzzards. Apparently he lived away and just let the donkeys roam around his other property, and checked on them only every few days or so....................
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