The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

Dozens of animals were seized from a Skamokawa property belonging to Wahkiakum County Engineer Paul Lacy and his wife, Daria, in December.

“Our primary mission was to get the animals out of there,” said Sheriff Mark Howie.

There was over a foot of excrement in the pig’s pen, he said, and the carcass of a horse was found in a nearby creek.

The Wahkiakum County Sheriff’s Office has been working in partnership with the Cowlitz Humane Society to tackle this issue, giving the Lacys several warnings in the last year.

Three times in the last two weeks, from sun up to sun down, according to Howie, personnel from the sheriff’s office and the humane society visited the Lacy property to seize all the animals, which included pigs, dogs, rabbits, geese, ducks, chickens, and turkeys, and one large rodent in a cage. There were also horses, including one wild stallion that proved to be difficult to corral.

Charges await completion of documentation and narrative.