A Nevada veterinarian who went viral for animal abuse was found dead near Lake Mead on Friday.
Dr. Shawn Frehner went missing April 6, days after a video of him kicking a horse began circulating on social media, according to KLAS-TV in Las Vegas.
The day after Frehner’s disappearance, his keys, wallet, and cellphone were found in his abandoned truck, which was parked at Hemmenway Harbor on the Nevada side of Lake Mead.
Nearly two weeks after that, the National Park Service found his body near the Boulder Islands, inside the lake’s recreation area.
His cause and manner of death are pending,
The video in question showed Frehner yanking hard on the horse’s lead rope before kicking it in the face.
The incident happened April 3 at a home in Pahrump, Nevada, according to KVVU-TV in Las Vegas.
Frehner was there to castrate the horse, which was described as a wild mustang. But when its owner, Shawna Gonzalez, saw the abuse, she dropped to the floor in disbelief.
“I was very appalled. Very shocked. That is why I went into a complete anxiety attack and had a seizure when I saw it,” Gonzalez said.
The search for missing veterinarian, Dr. Shawn Frehner, is still underway at Lake Mead, according to authorities. @joemoeller44 has the latest. pic.twitter.com/OeMWnph98G
— KTNV | Channel 13 News Las Vegas (@KTNV) April 9, 2025
Her daughter recorded the incident.
The horse, whose name is Big Red, was taken to a care center as it suffered from abrasions to the skull and other injuries, according to KLAS-TV.
Gonzales filed animal abuse charges against Frehner the next day.
Frehner posted a statement on social media after the incident.
“I did not blatantly haul off and kick this horse as it appears in the video. That was not my intention at all,” he wrote. “It was done simply to get the horse in a better position so that he could breathe and get up and move so I could again try to anesthetize.
“But yes I did kick him right in the chin and I very much do apologize and wish this never happened,” he wrote.
Gonzalez had used Frehner as her veterinarian since August 2024 and said she never had any incidents.
But others said this wasn’t the first time Frehner had been caught abusing horses.
WARNING: The following video contains images that some may find offensive.
In another video, he was seen flushing a horse’s nose with a syringe. But moments later, for no apparent reason, Frehner could be seen smacking the horse’s face.
In 2016, Frehner was under investigation.
The Nevada State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners ultimately put his license on probation for a year, alleging improper record keeping and prescribing medication to clients without labels or instructions.
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