Oregon man gets four days for animal neglect; prosecutor wants more

McMINNVILLE, Ore. – A Carlton man who wrapped a chain around the legs of a fallen horse and dragged the dying animal across a field behind a tractor has been sentenced to four days in jail.

But Yamhill County Deputy District Attorney Meuy Chao says she will file a motion for reconsideration. Chao says Robert Greiner, 64, should get 45 days behind bars.

Judge Cal Tichenor also sentenced Greiner to 200 hours of community service, ordered him to pay the veterinarian bills of his remaining horses and barred him from any contact with pets for five years.

Greiner pleaded guilty to two counts of animal neglect. Ten lesser counts were dismissed.

"I was just trying to help the horse the best I knew how," he told Tichenor.

Chao, who handled the plea negotiations, had planned to make a case for the longer sentence.

But she had a trial under way, so had to hand the sentencing off to fellow prosecutor Will Lathrop.

He lacked immediate access to the photographs and other evidence to support the stiffer sentence she had in mind.

Greiner was cited in February, along with his wife, Barbara, after a neighbor spotted Greiner dragging the flailing horse across a pasture. When authorities arrived, they found the animal lying on its side with a rope tied around its abdomen.

Blood was oozing from its nose and mouth and flesh had been scraped from its flanks and front legs.

Greiner told deputies he came home to find the horse had collapsed. He said he had dragged the horse across the pasture to a tree and tied a rope around its stomach in hopes he could hoist it to its feet again from a tree limb. Weak and malnourished, the horse had to be euthanized.

Nine other horses were in various stages of starvation. Many had open sores and some had to be put down.

Greiner's attorney, Geordie Duckler of Portland, said his client was in a difficult situation.

"These were his wife's horses," Duckler said. "He was battling with not having much money to care for the horses and a wife not willing to give up the horses."

Barbara Greiner, has a May 11 court date.