LAS CRUCES — A horse that was shot in the head three times and survived apparently sought help by knocking on the door of a home, according to court records.
The man who investigators say pulled the trigger, 36-year-old Brian Drake of the 7400 block of Dona Ana Road, will face one count of extreme cruelty to animals, a fourth-degree felony punishable by up to 18 months in prison, according to documents filed this morning in Magistrate Court.
He has not been arrested.
On June 9, the horse, a mare named "Miracle" by investigators, apparently approached a home in the 1800 block of County Road D61, near Radium Springs, according to a woman who lives in the home who told investigators she heard knocking at her front door.
"The horse had been wandering around," said Curtis Childress, supervisor of Dona Ana County's Animal Control Division. "We followed its trail probably for a couple of miles ... it just walked up right to this lady's door and I don't know if it bumped against the door or the house or what happened. But it was enough that it made a knocking sound that the lady thought she had a visitor."
The mare is in the care of a foster family after receiving treatment.