ANZA, Calif., April 20 (UPI) -- Police in Southern California say a man faces felony animal cruelty charges for allegedly decapitating his horse and feeding the head to his dogs.
Jack Ziniuk, 64, of Riverside County was arrested Sunday after initially calling authorities to report his dogs had injured his horse, and the horse was having seizures and needed to be put down, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.
Riverside County Sheriff's Sgt. Bill Roach said when officers arrived at Ziniuk's home they found a bloody sledgehammer soaking in a bucket of water near a chainsaw and the horse head in a dog run, apparently for the dogs to eat.
"He essentially admitted that he did it and that no dogs had attacked the horse," Roach said.
Riverside County Department of Animal Services spokesman John Welsh told the Times the department has sent representatives to Ziniuk's property several times in the past to check on the living conditions of animals.
"We have cited him for having too many dogs and not having dog licenses," Welsh said. "We have cited him for everything we could cite him for, but he has done just enough to avoid seizure of his animals."
Ziniuk had at least 33 dogs, eight puppies and 10 goats, as well as peacocks and geese, Welsh said.
