04/18/2026
It’s time to share a story that highlights how the vindictive and retaliatory behavior of Sheriff Chris Nanos and the damage his leadership has done to the department affects everything in Pima County. Keep in mind the actual criminal in this case, the individual who abused and neglected the horse involved, was never charged, and nor were many like him in similar cases, but his rescuer was!
I have been a horse rescuer in southern Arizona most of my life. In spring of 2024 I began receiving what had become typical calls from Pima county residents about a horse suffering horribly in a neighborhood in north west Pima County. They alleged they had reported to PCSD, no action had been taken and the horses’ plight grew more desperate as he appeared he could not properly use a hind leg, he grew increasingly emaciated and spent days laying down, as well as days with no one home at the property when he could barely get to his feet after laying or falling down.
I called livestock control, and began researching how to contact the individual who owned the property without trespassing, as I had learned he is quite vindictive and litigious from his neighbors. After some complicated phone communication, some fit throwing and lying from this man, and a sudden realization that it was his chance to no longer be responsible for the horse, he changed his tune and called me within a few days of our original conversation and asked to surrender the horse. I stated I needed to evaluate the horse for his ability to tolerate a haul to either the nearest veterinarian or my Cochise county ranch.
I also contacted several different vets near the pick up location as well as in between on the route and our regular vet for the ranch, should there be any problems along the way, and for immediate care when he reached the ranch. I did the evaluation on site and established he could haul at least to a nearby veterinarian, explained this, and stated that if any of my veterinarians reasonably declare the horse cannot be rehabilitated, and that humane euthanasia was the only fair option, I would do that. The owner did not seem shaken by this, but did state they wanted the horse to “spend the rest of his days relaxing with other horses.”
Several days later, I was able to collect the horse. I arrived and had the owner sign the attached surrender document with a witness. His information has been redacted for protection he doesn’t deserve. He was insistent on shoving the disabled horse from behind because he was in a huge hurry to be rid of this animal, and he was causing Brazos to stumble. Brazos needed relaxation and very specific support to get in the trailer and get situated that did not include this jackass shoving him. I very clearly and bluntly told him to stop. He’s not the sort of man that likes to be told what to do by a woman. I loaded Brazos with love and brute strength, supporting his bad leg with my body acting as his hip and destroyed fetlock. He had total trust and confidence in me, and worked with me to get him safely in the trailer like the good, brave boy he was.
I took him immediately to the nearest vet as I realized the haul would be cruel at best. He was evaluated and it was determined that joints in his leg were fused with arthritis and nothing could be done to make him whole or render him free of unreasonable pain. He was euthanized. He was such a special horse. His spirit and courage filled me with heartache. I paid the bill, wept for Brazos, and kept his tail with me for weeks. There’s a lot more to say about that stunning soul, the dues he paid that family as a sport horse, the injustice of the last years of his life and the powerful beauty of his final moments on earth, but that’s not what this story is about.
A few weeks later, I helped friends serve a lawsuit unrelated to horse matters to Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, the county and department as a whole, and the Board of Supervisors. It was relative to the bad leadership and retaliatory nature of Chris Nanos and harmful behavior and policy that gravely affected a corrections officer. Approximately two weeks later I received a felony indictment for theft by deception of Brazos the horse. The indictment stated the 29 yr old crippled and emaciated horse with incurable lameness, bad feet and bad teeth was worth $4500.
Upon the discovery phase of the matter, recorded calls with the PCSD detective were collected. It was found that the surrendering owner of the horse called PCSD the day the horse was surrendered, because he was bent out of shape I reprimanded him for shoving the horse during loading. Initially the detective who is familiar with my rescue work referred to the surrender document and basically said there was not a case. Then, following the date I assisted in service of the aforementioned lawsuit, another conversation stated I was being charged.
The case dragged out for almost a year and was dropped. The attorney on the matter had collected all evidence from veterinarians, the surrender document, members of the surrendering owner’s own family that the horse was neglected, abused and ignored, and the case should have been dropped long before it was. The prosecutor stated to the attorney they were under “political pressure from the sheriff’s department” to keep the case alive and requested more evidence in a specific format to drop it, which was easily provided, and the case was dismissed without prejudice.
The grand jury indictment and included statements gathered by the detective amounted to slander, as he carefully located a bunch of yahoos I had not taken nonsense from and told off to state what a horrible person they believed I am. Accusing me of crimes I’ve never been charged with, character assasination based in no truth whatsoever, and personal vendetta because I told them things they did not want but did in fact need to hear. His misrepresentation of my work as a whole as well as downplaying of the clear and binding surrender document amount to lying under oath. The attorney, once familiarized with the history and timeline of the lawsuit I was present for service of, and my involvement in calling out the sheriff and department under his supervision, came to the conclusion on her own that the case was retaliatory. I had left her to form that conclusion on her own, so that the validity of it was beyond question.
While I was confident I had done nothing illegal, and was, in fact, the only person who did anything remotely legal for the suffering animal, my confidence in the justice system in Pima County is eroded based on more than a decade of experience. It was stressful and unnecessary. In the end, it provided some documentation of both the corrupt nature of the department under Chris Nanos’ leadership and of Brazos’ suffering.
I’ve included the photos of Brazos, vet record, and surrender document for your consideration.
RECALL NANOS NOW!
