RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif. – A Southern California couple living in the Inland Empire is devastated after discovering their beloved miniature ponies were viciously shot and killed on their property late last month.
Fernando Ibarra, 53, owns a 20-acre spread in Reche Canyon, situated in the foothills of the San Jacinto Mountains in Riverside County. He had two miniature ponies that were gunned down in April. The ponies — named Brownie and Trigger — were inseparable, and the man’s pride and joy, KTLA reported.
“They would literally just follow me all day,” Ibarra said. “I had apples, I had carrots for them all the time.”
On April 29, Trigger was discovered lying in a pool of blood. The next day, Brownie was found lying in a dry creek bed. Both animals had fatal gunshot wounds.
“We did look for casings by the (closed and locked) gate because if whoever did this and if they do shoot him, they were shot by the gate,” Ibarra said.
The ponies were purchased about five years ago. Initially, Ibarra bought them after his grandson was born, visualizing the boy growing up with them.
Yet little did he know, the ponies would quickly develop another purpose for their owner.
Ibarra was struck by an intoxicated driver in 2008. As a result, he is paralyzed from the chest down, according to KTLA.
“They were my therapy after my injury,” he said. “They were like two dogs. You show up to the property and that was the first thing — they’re at the gate waiting for you.”
For Ibarra and his wife, many questions remain, including how someone could be so cruel as to kill the harmless animals serving as family pets.
“Why? I can’t understand it,” Ibarra said tearfully. “I can’t comprehend it. My question is, ‘Why do it?’”
“Me and my wife have spoken about it and I think it was just a thrill,” Ibarra speculated. “A thrill coming out here and shooting an animal.”
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the case. Anyone with information about the killings or who might be responsible is asked to call the sheriff’s department at 1-800-950-2444 or the Riverside County Department of Animal Services at 951-358-7387.
