"I was distraught more for what it meant about some person’s bad decision and a darkness that somebody had, to do such a thing,” Wood Weller, the horse's owner, told NBC 15.
Loved ones and officials are searching for answers after a miniature horse was found dead with a crossbow arrow in her chest.
The 21-year-old mini horse named Penny was found dead by a concerned neighbor on Wednesday, NBC 15 reported. The neighbor did not initially notice the lethal arrow lodged in her chest when he saw her.
Penny’s owner, Wood Weller, splits his time between his homes in Illinois and Wisconsin. He was at his Illinois property when his neighbor called him with the sad news and he drove to Wisconsin to see for himself, according to NBC 15.
”I saw this kind of diagonal blue line. Then as I looked closer, I realized it was a crossbow bolt,” Weller told NBC 15. ”It just kind of stopped me in my tracks. I was distraught more for what it meant about some person’s bad decision and a darkness that somebody had, to do such a thing.”
Despite losing a loved animal, Weller told the outlet the hardest part would be having to tell his grandchildren that Penny wasn’t going to be around anymore.
Penny played an important role in helping Weller’s granddaughter feel comfortable riding horseback, Weller told Dayton 24/7.
The Sauk County Sheriff’s Office is investigating Penny’s death and it is believed that it was not an accident, NBC 15 reported.
“From what he saw, and the placement of the arrow, he did not conceive it as being an accident,” Weller told NBC 15. "If it had been an accident, the person would’ve called somebody right away, or called the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office to say, ‘Oh, my God!’’'
There is currently a $1,000 reward for anyone who can bring forward information that leads to an arrest in Penny’s death, NBC 15 reported.
