TUCSON - A horse was found dead on a dirt road in a neighborhood south of the Tucson International Airport this week.
The horse was found in an area near Country Club and Old Vail roads, also known as "Dogpatch." It's an area known for people leaving unwanted or dead animals. Residents say it just keeps getting worse.
Tires, trash, pets, and now a horse have all been dumped along the dirt road, less than 50 yards away from homes, and it has been like this for at least 15 years.
"We started noticing the dumping, we started noticing the animals, we started noticing a lot of strays running around and all the garbage on the back roads," says an unnamed resident of the area.
They asked that their identity not be revealed for this story.
"I've got a bullet hole in my house right now just from gunshots that are fired around the neighborhood, I don't want one that's intentional," said the resident.
They say it's not uncommon to see more and more of what's left behind from the illegal dumping.
"It's hard to say exactly why there's not as much police presence as there are in some other areas and it is more or less a remote area," said Ted Noon, a detective for the Pima County Sheriff's Department.
Minimal police presence makes it easier for this to happen and neighbors say they believe people outside the community dump trash here too.
"In the beginning, this was a good place to go if you wanted to be away from people, but I think that turned into 'this is a good place to go if you're doing stuff that you don't want people to see you doing," said the resident.
According to the resident, it's not uncommon to hear gunshots or see illegal activity happen there.
In order to crack down on these kinds of activities, the sheriff's department says they need to be reported.
"If you see something say something, almost everyone nowadays has cell phones and if you see something that you think is suspicious call 911," said Noon.
Pima Animal Care Center said you can also call them if you find a smaller animal. You can reach them at this number: (520) 724-5900.
