$10,000 reward offered for information related to Leo

By LeAnn R. Ralph

ELK MOUND — A $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the fatal injuries to a yearling Appaloosa stud colt named Leo in July.

Leo, whose registered name was My Silhouette Rocks, was owned by Tammy Dahlby of Elk Mound.

Sometime during the afternoon on Sunday, July 14, someone took the one-year-old colt out of his stall at a place on county Highway B south of Colfax, coerced the horse into going up three steps into an observation room and then tortured or frightened the young horse so badly that he broke through a wall and fell to the arena below.

Then they put him back into a different stall and left.

Leo suffered various leg, back, neck, hip, and internal injuries.

Two days later, after numerous veterinarian’s visits, and Tammy’s constant doctoring and care, Leo colicked, was running a fever, started leaking blood from his rectum and then went down and could not get up.

At that point, Tammy Dahlby made the difficult and heart-wrenching decision to end Leo’s suffering and put him down.

Although the Dunn County Sheriff’s Department has been investigating the case for three months, and television and newsprint media have covered the story, no leads have turned up as to who could have done such a thing.

Leo could have reasonably been expected to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in stud fees and show earnings over his lifetime.

Dahlby has been working with horses since she was 12 years old, and Leo was the result of a breeding program that produced many foals before he came along with the right coloring, the right conformation, and the right temperament.

Dahlby had been hoping that Leo — whom she described as a sweet and gentle soul that  was a joy to work with — would replace her old breeding stallion so her dream of raising championship Appaloosa horses could continue.

According to the news release from Dunn County Crime Stoppers Inc. an anonymous citizen has come forward to post the $10,000 reward for information about what happened to Leo that leads to the conviction of the perpetrator or perpetrators.

Dahlby said she was driving when the message about the $10,000 reward came through on her cell phone.

“I had to pull over so I could sit and cry. I was stunned. I wish I knew who this person was so I could say ‘thank you,’” Dahlby said.

“I pray for God to bless the person who is doing this … words cannot express my gratitude for their generous heart,” she said.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to anonymously contact Dunn County Crime Stoppers by calling the toll free 24-hour phone line (1-855-847-3866/TIP-DUNN), sending an anonymous tip by texting “TIPDUNN” plus their message to “CRIMES” (274637) from a mobile phone or submitting a web tip at dunncocrimestoppers.com.