
Flower Mound family calls for action after dogs maul miniature horses inside barn
A Flower Mound family is reeling after two of their miniature horses were viciously attacked by a pair of aggressive dogs that wandered onto their property Sunday morning.
Carolyn Auburn, the owner of the horses, said she was devastated by the attack, which left one of the animals, Baby Bug, with a severe throat injury.
"It breaks my heart," Auburn said. "Every day when I go up to the hospital and I sit in her stall, I just tell her how sorry I am."
Horse suffers severe injuries
CBS News Texas
A photo taken at an equine hospital shows Auburn visiting Baby Bug, whose neck is wrapped in a bandage covering a gaping wound. Veterinarians say it's too early to tell whether the injury will be fatal.
"She's a tough little girl," Auburn said. "We go day by day right now."
Baby Bug and her mother serve as companion animals for the family's retired racehorse.
Dogs enter barn, attack horses
Auburn said she rushed to the barn after hearing noises and discovered the two dogs attacking the miniature horses inside a stall.
"They were just absolutely gruesome," she said. "I knew we had to separate them, or if they had her five minutes longer, they would have killed the baby."
Her husband, Bert Auburn, used a shovel to fend off the dogs.
"We did our best with shovels, and my wife had them pinned up against the wall," he said. "It looked like a crime scene, and you can still see all the bloodstains on the walls."
Dogs taken into custody
The couple managed to trap the dogs in the stall until Flower Mound police and animal control officers arrived. The dogs, identified by police as American bullies, were taken into custody.
According to the Auburns, the dogs belong to a neighbor. CBS News Texas was unable to reach the owner for comment.
In a statement, Flower Mound police said, "The dogs have been taken into custody pending a dangerous dog hearing on Wednesday."
Family demands accountability
The Auburns say the emotional toll of the attack has been overwhelming.
"They're just good little girls," Carolyn Auburn said. "They just came here to have a good life, to eat some hay."
If the horses can avoid infection, veterinarians say they may survive. But for the Auburns, the trauma may linger.
"I want justice for the miniatures," Auburn said. "They were in their safe place. This is where they come when it rains, when it storms. I don't know if that will ever be the same for them."
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