The Pecos County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday that the department is taking care of four donkeys with the hope of finding the rightful owners.
Sheriff Cliff Harris said, “We spend a day or so trying to locate the owner before we actually go out there and pick them up.”
This is not the first time the department had to foster unclaimed livestock. He said his office used Facebook to notify county residents.
“This is the reason we created it, it was to get stuff like this out there, so people can go on there and see what we’re doing, and we can put this stuff on there and get free advertisement.”
“It happens with dogs and cats, and unfortunately it happens with large animals,” said Livestock Specialist with Texas A&M’s AgriLife Extension Bruce Carpenter. “People either don’t care or I think a lot of times they are just ignorant of what it’s going to take to keep a large animal fed.”
He agrees with the Sheriff Office’s decision to house them instead of letting them roam free.
“Unfortunately it’s sad if a dog were to get hit on the highway, that’s sad, but if a 4,000 pound animal gets hit on the highway because it’s running loose that can really hurt people.” said Carpenter.
If the donkeys owners don’t come forward, the sheriff’s office plans to hold a public auction August 9.
Anyone with information about the owners, or an interest in purchasing them can call the sheriff”s office at 432-336-3521.
(Information and video from YourBasin.com.)