Beloved horse stolen from Morrison County family: "He's a puppy dog"
MORRISON COUNTY, Minn. – A Morrison County couple is asking for the public's help in finding a beloved horse that was stolen off their property.
"There's just something about them. They're just gentle giants," said Katie Gerads.
It's how she describes her Belgian Draft horses. But when she goes into the corral now, she's greeted by three horses where there should be four.
"He's a puppy dog," said Katie. "Anybody can go up to him and pet him, and I mean, he doesn't run. He's easy to load."
Katie and her husband Neil believe that someone took Richard, a 20-year-old gelding, off their property on Dec. 7. At about 3 a.m. that morning, they heard a noise outside, but when Neil went to investigate the horses were all accounted for.
"Got up in the morning and there were only three here. There's no fencing that was down. And so our take on it is that somebody was already outside, heard him coming, you know, hid, waited until he went back in," said Katie.
They think the thief may have walked Richard off the property to a nearby trailer. The horse has an interesting background. Katie found him on Craigslist and his owner originally wanted $1,500 for him. But he was malnourished and had a leg injury, so the owner ended up giving him to Katie for free, as long as she took care of the vet bills. Under her care, Richard gained about 100 pounds.
Neil and Katie have offered a $1,000 reward for the return of Richard. And they also have a message for whoever took their horse.
"If anybody had him or has him and just wants to bring him back, set him in here, no questions, nothing asked," said Neil.
The Gerads say Belgians are social animals who like to be in pairs. And they're worth a lot of money, which would be an incentive for thieves. They're just hoping whoever took Richard has a change of heart.
"I've had more feelings the last three weeks than I even knew I could have. I've been just distraught, heartbroken, angry," said Katie. "It's insane. It's one thing to steal property but it's another thing to steal someone's pet."
The Morrison County Sheriff's Office is investigating. If anyone has any information, they are urged to contact the Gerads or law enforcement.
