• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Subscribe
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Leadership
    • Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
      Leaders — the good, the bad and the horrible
      How not to fail as an outside chief
      Setting ethical expectations early in an officer’s career
      Go that extra mile with a smile
  • Topics
    • Leadership
      • Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
        Leaders — the good, the bad and the horrible
        How not to fail as an outside chief
        Setting ethical expectations early in an officer’s career
        Go that extra mile with a smile
    • Editor’s Picks
      • “Hold my beer”
        Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
        Code enforcement officers: The community’s frontline property...
        Cartel intelligence operations streamline cross-border drug smuggling
        Off duty, but never off guard
    • On the Job
      • Six Mexican cartels designated as terrorist organizations
        Police chief: Officers likely prevented further violence in Minnesota...
        Policing and fatherhood
        2025 Top Cops
        What’s with all the gear?
    • Labor
      • Dallas Police Department drops college requirement for police...
        Small Texas town left without a police force after firing its last...
        Port Authority Police Department welcomes 71 new officers
        The P.D. that wouldn’t go away
        Critical incidents and waiting woosah
    • Tech
      • How local police departments can combat cybercrime
        Your website is your front desk
        Telegram investigations
        Florida sheriff’s office deploys cutting-edge forensic tool to...
        A new chapter for Utah law enforcement
    • Training
      • Blind spots
        LPVOs are the next evolution of the patrol rifle
        Training vs. practice: Improve or maintain?
        Off duty, but never off guard
        Meeting training needs on a limited budget
    • Policy
      • Cartel intelligence operations streamline cross-border drug smuggling
        Michigan Supreme Court: Marijuana odor alone no longer justifies...
        Milwaukee P.D. and schools clash over SROs
        Seattle Police Department launches new plan to curb violent crime
        Buffer-zone law blocked in Louisiana
    • Health/Wellness
      • “Hold my beer”
        When empathy backfires
        Navigating retirement
        Keeping work at work and home at home
        Avoiding the road to burnout
    • Community
      • Police warn of growing “jugging” crime trend as attacks spread...
        Code enforcement officers: The community’s frontline property...
        San Diego Honors Fallen Officer Austin Machitar with Park Renaming
        Battle of the Badges baseball game to support injured Missouri officer
        Temple University Police celebrate 7-year-old’s support with...
    • Offbeat
      • Not eggzactly a perfect heist
        Pizza … with a side of alligator?
        Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
        Only in California?
        Durango, Colorado, police hop into action after unusual 9-1-1 call
    • We Remember
      • National Police Week 2025
        Honoring Fallen Heroes
        What’s with the white chairs?
        The pain and sorrow of loss
        A cop and his car
    • HOT Mail
      • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • On the Job
    • Six Mexican cartels designated as terrorist organizations
      Police chief: Officers likely prevented further violence in Minnesota...
      Policing and fatherhood
      2025 Top Cops
      What’s with all the gear?
  • Labor
    • Dallas Police Department drops college requirement for police...
      Small Texas town left without a police force after firing its last...
      Port Authority Police Department welcomes 71 new officers
      The P.D. that wouldn’t go away
      Critical incidents and waiting woosah
  • Tech
    • How local police departments can combat cybercrime
      Your website is your front desk
      Telegram investigations
      Florida sheriff’s office deploys cutting-edge forensic tool to...
      A new chapter for Utah law enforcement
  • Training
    • Blind spots
      LPVOs are the next evolution of the patrol rifle
      Training vs. practice: Improve or maintain?
      Off duty, but never off guard
      Meeting training needs on a limited budget
  • Policy
    • Cartel intelligence operations streamline cross-border drug smuggling
      Michigan Supreme Court: Marijuana odor alone no longer justifies...
      Milwaukee P.D. and schools clash over SROs
      Seattle Police Department launches new plan to curb violent crime
      Buffer-zone law blocked in Louisiana
  • Health/Wellness
    • “Hold my beer”
      When empathy backfires
      Navigating retirement
      Keeping work at work and home at home
      Avoiding the road to burnout
  • Community
    • Police warn of growing “jugging” crime trend as attacks spread...
      Code enforcement officers: The community’s frontline property...
      San Diego Honors Fallen Officer Austin Machitar with Park Renaming
      Battle of the Badges baseball game to support injured Missouri officer
      Temple University Police celebrate 7-year-old’s support with...
  • Offbeat
    • Not eggzactly a perfect heist
      Pizza … with a side of alligator?
      Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
      Only in California?
      Durango, Colorado, police hop into action after unusual 9-1-1 call
  • We Remember
    • National Police Week 2025
      Honoring Fallen Heroes
      What’s with the white chairs?
      The pain and sorrow of loss
      A cop and his car
  • HOT Mail
    • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
Search

Community

“These are beautiful animals”: Community members gift horses to Dallas police in memory of loved ones

APB Team Published March 22, 2023 @ 3:00 pm PDT

The family of fallen Dallas Police Officer Mitchell Penton (EOW February 13, 2021) presented equine Walker to the department in his honor this past February. (Dallas Police Department)

A man recently donated four horses to the Dallas Police Department in memory of his late wife, who donated several to the department during her lifetime.

Robert Caruth, who owns more than 100 horses at his Caruth Arabians Ranch in Lone Oak, first fell in love with horses when he was 10.

His wife, Tracy, previously donated several horses to the police department. She died by suicide in 2013.

“Acute depression. A very underestimated disease. You don’t recognize it until it’s too damn late,” he told CBS News Texas.

On March 1, Caruth decided to donate four horses to the department’s mounted patrol unit, along with funding to cover the equipment they need, to honor his late wife.

“Continuing my wife’s work,” he said of his donation. One of the feistier horses is named T.C., his wife’s initials.

“These are beautiful animals. They’re majestic. I mean, they’re therapy,” Assistant Chief Reuben Ramirez told CBS News.

Ramirez said the department was grateful for the gift, and plans to add four new human officers to the department as well. The new horses still have a few months of training before deployment.

Officer Zachary Johnson, who works as the unit’s head trainer, loves working his equine partners.

“Best job in the department. Wouldn’t do anything else,” he said.

According to Johnson, unlike in some other agencies’ mounted units, the horses are used for more than just special events.

“We actually use our horses for everyday patrol, in answering 9-1-1 calls and just doing everyday police work,” he explained.

Caruth said horses can help build relationships between police and their communities. “They can go into neighborhood and children won’t run from police. They’ll run from a police car, but they won’t run from a police horse. They’ll want to pet the horse,” he said.

This was not the first donation of horses to the DPD this year. In February, the parents of fallen DPD Officer Mitchell Penton donated a horse to the department in his honor, named Walker after Penton’s favorite show, Walker, Texas Ranger.

Penton was killed after being hit by a drunk driver at the scene of a separate accident in 2021.

“Two years ago we lost Officer Mitchell Penton in the line of duty,” the department wrote in a Facebook post. “Meet Walker, a new Mounted Unit member, donated by the Penton family. Officer Penton’s legacy lives on within Dallas Police Department, through Walker, and the men and women of DPD. We will never forget his sacrifice.”

Categories: Community Tags: donation, four horses, Robert Caruth, Mitchell Penton, patrol, Texas, Dallas Police Department, community, suicide, mounted unit

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • Project Lifesaver helps Oregon deputies rescue elderly man from ravine
  • CARFAX for Police and NE-IAATI unveil vehicle crimes educational series
  • Six Mexican cartels designated as terrorist organizations
  • “Hold my beer”
  • NLEOMF’s 2025 Mid-Year Law Enforcement Fatalities Report reveals law enforcement deaths have decreased by more than 50% over last year
  • Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
  • Blind spots
  • Police warn of growing “jugging” crime trend as attacks spread across nation
  • Code enforcement officers: The community’s frontline property regulators
  • When empathy backfires

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com | (800) 234-0056.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

“Hold my beer”

“Hold my beer”

July 12, 2025

Are performance evaluations worth the effort?

Are performance evaluations worth the effort?

July 10, 2025

Code enforcement officers: The community’s frontline...

Code enforcement officers: The community’s frontline...

July 07, 2025

Cartel intelligence operations streamline cross-border drug...

Cartel intelligence operations streamline cross-border drug...

June 30, 2025

Policies | Consent Preferences | Copyright © 2025 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close

Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.