Livestock recover after suffering from starvation

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

April 6, 1997

By Devlyn Brooks

Staff Writer

BAGLEY, Minn. -- The majority of 233 sheep and 13 cattle seized from a Clearwater County farm north of here March 26 are recuperating well after suffering from starvation for a number of weeks, according to Clearwater County Undersheriff Lyle Colligan.

Friday the animals were scheduled to be moved to one farm to be cared for until an owner could be found by the Sheriff's Office. Previously, the animals had been trucked to two local farms to receive food and shelter.

Three of the ewes, cared for by Bagley farmer Johnny Smith, have even had lambs -- two singles and a pair of twins.

The animals were seized by the Sheriff's Office after a complaint of mistreatment was substantiated by an officer's visit to the farm, Colligan said.

The incident began March 21 when the Clearwater County Sheriff's Office received a telephone call from Dan Thompson, co-occupant of the farm from which the animals were taken, asking the officers to investigate whether the other resident of the farm was caring for his animals. The other resident, Albert Crosby, is the owner of the farm.

Deputy Sheriff Ryan Solee, a part-time officer, was dispatched to the farm, at which time Crosby said the animals were fine and pointed out four large round bales of hay from which the animals were supposedly fed on the farm.

However, the next day, the farm's barn burned to the ground, and Clearbrook firefighters who fought the blaze informed authorities of a number of sheep carcasses laying about the farm. Most had died long before the barn fire the firefighters reported, Colligan said.

Solee, another officer and a veterinarian visited the farm again March 22, and at that time the veterinarian diagnosed the animals as starving. Solee returned to the farm March 24 to ask Crosby to remedy the situation and was asked to leave the property.

A search warrant was drafted March 25 and served March 26 by Solee, assisting officer Pat Ward and the two local farmers. They hauled the animals to Smith's and Guy Rolfson's farms for care.

Although Crosby reportedly told authorities the animals belonged to Thompson, Solee determined in his investigation the animals do allegedly belong to Crosby.

Misdemeanor charges of cruelty to animals and malnourishment of animals and a gross misdemeanor charge of giving false information to a peace officer are pending against Crosby, Ward said Friday in a telephone interview.

Colligan added that his office is investigating the barn fire as well, and would not comment if it had been purposely set.

"I could tell (the animals had not eaten for a while). It was visibly noticeable," said Ward, who was there when the animals were seized. "This is not a one-week or two-week type of affair. It's been going on for most of the winter."

Colligan said Friday should Crosby not respond to the county's requirements to provide proof he can care for the animals within 10 days, the county may sell the animals in an attempt to recoup the expenses of transporting and caring for them. The 10-day period was nearly over Friday, and Ward said he thinks they have even found a potential buyer.

Only three lambs had died from the strain of being transported, Colligan said. And Smith said the animals have been eating well and "doing all right."

"All they needed was something to eat and a place to lie down," Smith said. "They'd been hungry for a while ... they certainly could have been better. There's absolutely nothing on them but bones and wool. If they were sheared, people would die if they saw them."