Dee Russian was taken from me MUCH too soon, a mere 7 months after I purchased her from my dear friend Marlene Graves of White Tail Miniatures in Charlotte Hall, MD.

Dee Russian was a beautiful mare with a prestige pedigree. It had been a lifelong dream of mine to own an own daughter of Little Kings White Russian. She was my first and a major blessing for the limited time she was here with me. She was a loving, patient girl but also had a strong will about her that she carried her with her to the very end. 2021 was looking to be a promising year as we were pretty certain she was pregnant with our Grand Champion Billy Idol son, Reaux, at the time of her death.

It pains me to ever have to write this, and even at that, I am just now finding myself able to, nearly 2 years after her tragic passing. June 17, 2020 is by far one of the most heartbreaking and traumatic days of my life. One that I will never forget; one that haunts my dreams and has caused constant fear and anxiety every day since.

On the early morning of June 17, 2020 it seemed to have started out as a normal morning until my Cremello mare, Buckeroo Ivory alerted me through the kitchen window that something was wrong with her best friend, Dee Russian – making Dee Russian try to walk to show she was injured. Immediately upon rushing back outside I found that Dee Russian was a little bloody from a puncture. Though barely any blood coming out her body. The vet was on her way immediately.

However, the vet didn't make it in time & Dee Russian took her final breath in my arms in only a matter of minutes. So, bawling I called my vet off, no longer needing to come since Dee had passed. Then I investigated the puncture wound, took photos of it and started investigating the pasture shelter, etc to see if there was anything that could have caused one solo hole, all the while waiting for my husband and neighbor to look at the photos & tell me what they thought as it was there in the back of my mind as to the cause.... You never want to think of it ACTUALLY ever happening to one of YOUR beloved, priceless miniatures.... But when their calls came in I knew one of my biggest fears was now a reality....

My Dee Russian had been SHOT!! What kind of heartless lowlife can do such a thing as to pull the trigger on a Miniature Horse and let her SUFFER the way she did?!!??

Clark County Sheriff was called; they collected the evidence while we awaited the vet to do the official autopsy & confirmed she was indeed shot. My Dee Russian was shot when she was standing in our front pasture. She had herd mates out there and a round bale/feeder --- There was NO mistaking that she was a deer (and the pasture is NOT a big pasture either or overloaded with tall grass, etc)- So absolutely NO EXCUSE!! She was SHOT & KILLED for pure sport!! It took Dee Russian HOURS to bleed out INTERNALLY! My poor girl had to endure all that PAIN & SUFFERING and there wasn't anything I could do about it. My vet said even if I could have been there immediately after it happened, we wouldn't have been able to save her with the damage internally. To believe my Dee Russian was such a strong girl to hold on so long for me to get there, to tell her how much I loved her and comfort her the best I could only for her to pass away in my arms...

Her MURDERER is still at large!  I urge ANYONE who may know ANYTHING in connection to her killing (as well as the killing of my Amish neighbor's Miniature Horse on that very same morning right around the corner from us) to PLEASE HELP!!  NO animal should be subject to a death like this. NO person should go through losing a beloved pet this way. Please, if you know anything, please put yourself in the victims/owners shoes. You would not want this to befall yourself, your family or friends. You wouldn't want to have that constant worry about who did this or why; to worry for the rest of your life that your animals welfare may be at stake again. You'd want ANSWERS.

I am offering a REWARD for any information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the lowlife that took my beloved Dee Russian away from me much too soon. Please contact the Clark County Sheriff's office at 1-800-743-2420 if you have ANY information.