The fence posts surrounding Kerry Hollebone’s horse field on Holland Avenue are decorated with flowers and ribbons, left as memorials to China Doll, the miniature horse fatally attacked in her stall this month.
The tributes are also symbols of the horror felt by Greater Victoria residents after the horse, known as Dolly, had to be euthanized because her rectum was torn by someone who inserted an unknown object.
“A lot of people are pretty upset,” Hollebone said. “So many people have arrived on our doorstep with cards and flowers and many others have written, phoned and emailed.”
However, Saanich police are no closer to discovering who attacked the horse and are again appealing for the public’s help.
“We have had no tips and no person of interest identified at this time,” said Saanich police spokesman Sgt. Steve Eassie.
“We are still waiting for results of the forensic examinations, but the scope is somewhat limited,” he said.
Police are testing an item left at the scene, but it is not certain that it is connected to the crime, Eassie said.
A post-mortem was conducted by veterinarian Danica Olenick, who found signs of trauma, swelling and bruising around the vulva, vagina and anus, but no clues about the identity of the attacker.
The four-year-old horse, who was just 75 centimetres tall at the shoulder, had to be euthanized because the tear allowed feces to enter her abdomen.
An anonymous Saanich resident has offered to put up $2,000 as a reward for information leading to an arrest and is hoping an organization will offer to administer the fund and that others will add to it. “You just never know what this person is going to do next and, if we put up a reward, maybe someone will come forward,” he said.
Hollebone is also pleading for anyone who was in the neighbourhood about 11 p.m. Friday, Jan. 11, to think back to that night.
“The lights are pointed right at the picket fence that was broken,” she said.
Until someone is caught, Hollebone will not bring home her other miniature horse, Drifter, who is with friends.
That means life is much lonelier, she said.
“The little barn is empty. No tiny pinto mare paws the ground as I come out to feed her. No horses chase each other around the paddock, kicking up their heels, full of life and energy,” she said.
“We struggle with such a violent ending to such a short little life.”
