Fla. men charged in donkey dragging

Randy Orton

WC's Resident Alchoholic

Fla. men charged in donkey dragging
By Amy Sowder
pensacola News Journal
Originally posted on March 27, 2006
DELIVERING YOUR WORLD
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A female donkey that was tied to a blue pickup and dragged at least 76 feet along a Florida Panhandle highway is recovering from her injuries, animal rescuers said.
The 5-year-old donkey, dubbed "Jenny" because it is the term for female donkeys, was eating, drinking and "hee-hawing" at an Atmore, Ala., veterinarian's clinic on Sunday, said Diane Lowery of Panhandle Equine Rescue Inc.
The donkey had cuts on her legs, rear and side, but none of the cuts was deep enough to be near the bone, Lowery said.
"She was shaken and pretty scared," Lowery said about the donkey.
"The little donkey may have died if they kept on. She was about to pass out."
But several drivers passing by called law enforcement, who found the truck stopped late Saturday at Sharon's Diner, formerly called Fran's Diner.
Escambia County deputies arrested Terry Lynn Skinner, 38, of Molino and Matthew Michael Ramsey, 33, of Cantonment and charged them with animal cruelty, a third-degree felony.
The two men told deputies that they were trying to get the donkey back to Skinner's house, which is why they knotted a rope around the donkey's neck and dragged her along U.S. 29 behind the pickup.
Sgt. Mike Ward, spokesman for the sheriff's office, said he didn't know for sure where the men were bringing the donkey from or if it belonged to either of the men.
"They're looking at time in state prison if they're found guilty," Ward said. "You don't see this often."