Sheriff honored for animal rescue

About 300 horses and burros dotted a large swath of Morrill County land last April.

More than 200 of the animals were emaciated or ailing; at least 74 were dead.

Today most of those surviving animals are still alive, and a national animal rights group is honoring Morrill County Sheriff John Edens for his part in their rescue.

“I'm just doing my job,” said Eden. “I don't really think I deserve anything special for it.”

The Humane Society of the United States will distribute the 2009 Humane Law Enforcement Awards on Saturday in Washington, D.C., although Edens will not attend.

Officials from New Mexico, Alabama, Indiana and New Jersey also will be honored.

Edens, along with other law enforcement officers from Morrill County, removed the animals from a ranch that was supposed to be a horse sanctuary. Now the ranch owner, Jason Meduna, faces felony animal cruelty charges. His trial has been scheduled for January.

None of the 211 horses and burros taken alive from the ranch had to be euthanized in the days following the search. The horses were distributed among the Texas rescue group Habitat for Horses, the Wyoming Bureau of Land Management and the Humane Society of the United States.

The national Humane Society also was involved with the rescue, said Edens. It assisted with the care of the horses and paid some of the costs involved with their removal and care.

“It would have been hard to do everything we did without them,” Edens said.

Edens was first elected sheriff in 1991.

Contact the writer:

444-1310, elizabeth.ahlin@owh.com