TACOMA, Wash. -- A Tacoma woman says her horse was so spooked by illegal fireworks that he ran into a nearby road and was hit by a passing car.
The horse was so badly injured that a veterinarian was forced to euthanize him on site.
Life hadn't been easy for Prince, but a kindhearted woman rescued the starving Egyptian Arabian a few years ago and nursed him back to health at a pasture outside of Tacoma.
The 21-year-old horse had room to graze and seemed indifferent to the jet traffic and target practice at nearby Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
But Prince wasn't ready for a round of illegal fireworks.
"They were just so loud and in such close succession, that it just spooked him," said Robin Landon, who owns the pasture where Prince's owner, Denise Gunderson, brought him to live.
Landon said someone set off a series of explosions that sent the horse running. Prince bolted through a gate and down a driveway into a nearby road. A passing car crossed paths at just the wrong moment, crashing into Prince and sending him into a ditch.
He was too badly injured to be saved.
As the Fourth of July approached, those illegal fireworks rang out repeatedly
"It's unbelievable how loud it gets," said Jim Landon.
Robin Landon said Prince's fate is a tragic reminder of the terrible toll fireworks can take on animals.
"You can bring your dogs and cats in the house, but you can't bring your horses," she said.
The horse was so badly injured that a veterinarian was forced to euthanize him on site.
Life hadn't been easy for Prince, but a kindhearted woman rescued the starving Egyptian Arabian a few years ago and nursed him back to health at a pasture outside of Tacoma.
The 21-year-old horse had room to graze and seemed indifferent to the jet traffic and target practice at nearby Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
But Prince wasn't ready for a round of illegal fireworks.
"They were just so loud and in such close succession, that it just spooked him," said Robin Landon, who owns the pasture where Prince's owner, Denise Gunderson, brought him to live.
Landon said someone set off a series of explosions that sent the horse running. Prince bolted through a gate and down a driveway into a nearby road. A passing car crossed paths at just the wrong moment, crashing into Prince and sending him into a ditch.
He was too badly injured to be saved.
As the Fourth of July approached, those illegal fireworks rang out repeatedly
"It's unbelievable how loud it gets," said Jim Landon.
Robin Landon said Prince's fate is a tragic reminder of the terrible toll fireworks can take on animals.
"You can bring your dogs and cats in the house, but you can't bring your horses," she said.