Mule died from blunt force injury, not gunshot

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    HAMILTON, Montana (Ravalli Republic) — A mule that was reportedly shot and killed in late February actually died from blunt force injuries, apparently from being hit by a vehicle.

The mule’s owner, Eve Deering, said she decided to have the animal exhumed and necropsied after someone sent an anonymous tip to her following a newspaper article last week.

Deering found her saddle mule, Big D, dead just off the Eastside Highway on Flagger Lane near her family’s home. The mule had what appeared to be a bullet hole in its left side.

People urged Deering to put the word out about the apparent shooting. She shared her story on a Facebook post and later through a newspaper story. Ravalli County Sheriff Steve Holton published a press release that said his office was investigating the apparent gunshot death of the mule.

Shortly after that story appeared in the Ravalli Republic last week, someone sent her an anonymous tip about a vehicle hitting a mule.

The next day, while working cows, she asked a veterinary technician if the mule could be dug up and examined. After hearing it was possible, Deering decided to do that.

The mule was necropsied late last week. She received the results Saturday and passed them onto the sheriff.

On Monday morning, Deering said she was awaiting a call from Holton to decide what she should do next.

“I didn’t want to do anything official until I heard from the sheriff,” she said. “I couldn’t let this stand knowing that it might not be true. That’s not me. I always stand for the truth.”

Holton said the necropsy report was forwarded to his office. It showed there was no gunshot wound. The mule’s injuries were consistent with being struck by a vehicle.

“There was what appeared to be an injury on its left upper portion of its chest that was consistent with a bullet wound,” Holton said Monday. “There was a puncture wound.”

Holton said someone did leave the scene of the accident that resulted in more than $500 damage.

“Someone was pretty irresponsible,” Holton said. “That mule could have wandered back out on the road and someone else could have hit it.”

The mule was killed either late Thursday, Feb. 25 or in the early morning hours of Friday, Feb. 26.

A reward account was set up through Corvallis’ Wings Programs. The two largest donors had pledged $5,500 specifically toward the case of the mule. A little more than $1,000 had been donated toward a revolving livestock crimes reward fund.

Wings Programs director Debora Lay said anyone who has donated money toward that livestock crimes fund and wants a refund just needs to let her know. If they had donated through Facebook, Lay said it would be best if they sent her a message via Facebook. Others can call her at 406-363-3346.

“The person who hit the mule still needs to come forward and acknowledge what happened,” Lay said. “People need to report those things. The mule could have died in the middle of the road and been hit by another driver. That could be a serious situation.”

If people chose to leave money in the reward fund, Lay said that could be used to help identify the party responsible for hitting the mule.

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