'A Living Hell' After Mule Attacks At Puget Sound Farm: Report

OAK HARBOR, WA - A family is experiencing "a living hell" after recent attacks carried out against their livestock, including the death of one animal.

There have been three separate attacks on mules owned by the Wallace family at their Whidbey Island farm over the past few months, according to a KING 5 report.

In January, a mule named Buster was beaten with an implement, possibly a piece of wood, John Wallace told KING 5.

"Somebody stood right in front of him with a two-by-four or something and swung it like a baseball bat and hit him right in the eye," Wallace said.

That was just the beginning. Two weeks after Buster was attacked, someone beat a mule named Lotta; the attacker also slashed the animal with a razor.

Last week, a mule named Tucker died suddenly. There was no sign that he was sick, Wallace told the TV station. Wallace said that his children are having nightmares about the attacks. The farmers consider the mules part of the family.

"They're innocent, they're lovable," Wallace told KING 5.

And although it's possible that a human is attacking the family's mules, mules often fall prey to wild animals and even dogs.

In early February, a mule was taken in the night from a farm near Athens, Ga., by a dog; the mule's owner found the animal days later dead. In early December, a cougar killed a member of a mule herd near Cripple Creek, Colo.

If you know anything about the attacks, contact the Island County Sheriff's Office at 360-629-2224.

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