Granville police round up loose horses

GRANVILLE – It seems to have been a time for animals to run wild in Licking County as the week wound down.

On Thursday morning, cattle was reported to be running loose in Jersey Township following a barn fire on Beech Road.

A few hours before that, Granville police were called in to help round up three loose horses on Burg Street.

Sgt. Suzie Dawson said the horses actually were wandering in the jurisdiction of the Licking County Sheriff’s Office, but Granville police were called into assist with the situation.

When Officer Jon Dailey arrived on the scene, he contacted Dawson, who raises and shows horses.

“The horses had no halters,” she said. “One was a very big draft horse.”

The horses were reported loose by a motorist and were kind of “hanging together,” Dawson said.

Fortunately, “Officer Dailey had a dog leash,” Dawson said, which she first used to rein in the horses.

Eventually, a passing motorist who lived up the road and who owns horses drove back with some halters to assist police in gathering up the horses, Dawson said.

She said another neighbor allowed police to quarter the horses in their field while they worked to temporarily repair damage to a fence that facilitated their escape.

Eventually, the horses were returned to their proper fenced-in area which they share with other livestock, including a mule, Dawson said.

This isn’t the first time Granville police have been called in to try and contain maverick livestock. Dawson cited an instance a few years ago on Newark-Granville Road involving an escaped steer.