Harrah Woman Arrested for Starving Horses

A Harrah woman is behind bars for reportedly starving two horses. Billie Dean Vandergriff, 49, was arrested in December on animal cruelty charges. One died from hunger and another was extremely malnourished when police showed up to her house.

The Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office was originally called to the Harrah home in December to check the welfare of two kids. The children were the Vandergriff's grandchildren. The reporting officers said both juveniles were "very dirty" but appeared to be healthy. The deputies also said the house was "filthy" and had a "horrid" smell but was not bad enough for charges to be filed, however, DHS is investigating.

As deputies were investigating, they found one horse that had recently died and another that was so skinny, deputies could see its ribs and hip bones. Vandergriff told the deputies one horse died the day before and was buried in the front yard. She also told the deputies she had one bale of hay and an almost empty bag of feed for the still-living horse.

An arrest warrant was issued for Vandergriff when she failed to show up for court in January. She told deputies she had paperwork saying she wasn't due in court until February.

On Wednesday, deputies pulled her over and arrested her in Harrah. She's facing two counts of cruelty to animals.Harrah Woman Arrested for Starving Horses

Posted: Saturday, February 9 2013, 04:25 PM CST