“It’s just the biggest heartbreak you can imagine,” said Doris Mataya, owner of Laddie, a 14-month-old registered Paint colt and his pregnant dam, Lady. The two horses were shot multiple times in Mataya’s pasture between midnight and 7 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 3, according to Sgt. David Marshall of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department. Both horses were taken to Oregon State University’s (OSU) Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Corvallis, Ore. Only Lady survived.

Early that morning, Joe Mataya, Doris’ husband, went to feed and check on their two horses before heading off to give his Sunday sermon at their church. He could see Lady by the barn, but Laddie was nowhere in sight.

“They are always so anxious for grain,” Doris Mataya said. “They would come running up as soon as they heard you.” But Laddie never came. He saw Lady lying down by the barn, which was unusual, but he was able to get her to her feet. It wasn’t until Joe went behind the barn that he saw Laddie in the trees.

“We struggled to get him up,” she added. “When we did, that’s when Joe noticed the puncture wounds in his sides. Joe–and he’s not one to jump to conclusions–immediately suspected a 0.22 gunshot wound. Somebody had used them (Laddie and Lady) for malicious target practice