He received the phone call at 6:30 am on a Saturday morning from the boarding stables. The woman’s voice was sad, even apologetic, as she explained the horrible accident. His horse had colicked and died two days earlier. The woman he spoke to owned the boarding stable, and had been a close friend of the man for a number of years. He had just purchased the horse a few months previously, and it seemed a logical choice to board with the woman. But now he questioned his judgment as she expressed her sadness for his loss. She stated that she had paid a friend of hers to remove the corpse from her property and bury the animal in the desert. Could she please forward him a check for $250.00 to cover the cost of the burial?

Two men in New River, Arizona were arrested Tuesday afternoon on suspicion of felony animal cruelty when it was discovered they caused the death of one horse by an injection of pool acid and starved another horse.

Detectives with Maricopa County Sheriff's animal crimes unit believe John Henkle, 54, injected a 26-year-old Arabian horse with a homemade injection of pool acid and sodium bicarbonate, causing an extremely painful death in early March, according to a press release. Laurel George, 54, is accused of assisting Henkle.