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To the editor:
On July 7, 2022, you published a letter written by Dean Pettit.
Some important facts were left out of that letter.
After an assistant state veterinarian determined that the Dean Pettit’s cattle had been neglected, we executed a search warrant and were able to rescue 40 head.
There were 25 dead cows and 22 dead calves on the property, and sadly, two of the cows were in such a deplorable state of emaciation that they could not even stand to be loaded into a trailer.
Both of these cows died before we could obtain authority to have them euthanized. Even though we got the rescued animals to a livestock yard where they received feed, protein and mineral, four of them died before we could obtain judicial authority to see them.
When we were attempting to corral and load the cattle, Chief Deputy Nathan Nickle found a bucket in the driveway, scooped up about a half of a bucket of corn from a wagon sitting there, and used the corn to lure the cattle to the loading chute. The corn was emptied onto the ground leading to corral.
The cattle eagerly went after the corn, and they ate all the corn before we left the property. The bucket was left on the property before we drove away. Since the bucket and the corn never left the property, and the corn was all fed to Dean Pettit’s cattle, the county attorney decided there was no basis for a theft charge under these circumstances.
I believe these additional facts paint a different picture than the limited information provided by Dean Pettit.
Rob Haley
Ringgold Sheriff
Mount Ayr