Horse neglect - 9 found dead, 11 starving
Moraine, OH (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Dec 21, 2006
County: Montgomery
Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 4 files available
Alleged: Harley L. Thompson
Case Updates: 3 update(s) available
A Butler County resident is being credited for tipping off investigators to what's being called one of the worst cases of animal cruelty in the area.
The tip led the Butler County dog warden to a Moraine, Ohio farm where nine horses were found dead and an 11 other horses on the property were found malnourished.
The rescue effort happened Dec 21 night when Butler County dog warden Vicky Steier said her agency received a call about the horses. She said the animals were found in horrific conditions and extremely thin.
"The nine other horses most likely died of starvation," Steier said.
Local 4-H youths will assist in bringing the horses back to health and into their normal weight.
Some of the surviving horses are being held in Butler's Madison Township where they are also being nourished back to health.
The Montgomery County Humane Society handling the case,but because no charges have been filed, the name of the property owner has not yet been released.
There are a number of ways you can help the remaining horses to be nursed back to health:
The Making Strides program has an account set up at First Financial Bank for anyone who would like to make a donation.
Case UpdatesThe owner of nine horses found dead in Moraine on Dec. 21 along with 11 others that were in serious distress was charged Thursday with 29 counts of animal cruelty in Kettering Municipal Court, according to the Humane Society of Greater Dayton.
"I have seen some awful things, but I haven't seen a horse case this bad since I came here in 1999," said Brian Weltge, executive director of the Humane Society.
Harley L. Thompson of Moraine faces a $750 fine and 90 days in jail for each of the second-degree misdemeanor counts of failure to provide good, wholesome food and failure to provide or seek medical attention for the horses, Weltge said.
It was not the first time he had been accused of mistreating horses.
The horse dealer had been ordered out of business more than 30 years ago by a Montgomery County judge after two convictions for animal cruelty.
"We've had numerous complaints," said James Brown, then-chief animal warden for the Humane Society, in a 1975 Dayton Daily News interview. "We've found skeletons of horses on his property. We've documented cases of dead horses and starving horses."
Thompson claimed then that he was being discriminated against by the Humane Society officers.
"I'm just a poor man," Thompson had said. "They're taking my livelihood away from me."
Thompson had said he planned to appeal that conviction, but no record of an appeal could be found.
The Humane Society began the current investigation after receiving a report just before Christmas that his horses were in jeopardy.
A tip led them to Thompson's residence in Moraine. One dead horse was found in a barn, and the bodies of eight others were discovered in a field at 4147 Union Road. Weltge said veterinarians believe the horses died of malnutrition.
Thompson, 67, signed over the surviving horses to the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center. They are being nursed back to health at Kubicki Equine Centre in Maineville.
Dan Appenzeller of Brookville said he bought a horse from Thompson at a farm on Infirmary Road in 2000. The horse, an appaloosa named King, now weighs about 970 pounds, but was a scant 750 pounds when Appenzeller bought him for $800.
"The horse was malnourished," Appenzeller said. "The stalls were not clean. There was a foot-and-a-half to two feet of horse manure in them."
Appenzeller said Thompson had 25 to 30 horses on the farm at that time.
"When I bought King from him, (Thompson) said he was an independently employed tow-truck driver and that he got called out all the time and couldn't take care of the horses," Appenzeller said.
"He said King was a good horse, able to be ridden. He's been a real good horse for us." | Source: Courier Press - Jan 11, 2007
Update posted on Jan 12, 2007 - 11:13AM |
The owner of 20 malnourished and dead horses discovered just before Christmas in deplorable conditions at a Dayton-area farm was charged Thursday with 29 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty and ordered to appear in court next week.
Harley L. Thompson, 67, of Moraine, was served at home with papers notifying him of the charges, said Moraine police Sgt. Mike Keegan.
The horse trader was not physically arrested because of his age and cooperation with authorities, he said.
"He has said he wants to get it over with," Keegan said. "He is remorseful."
When officials with the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center arrived at Thompson's farm last month - following a tip to one of Butler County's dog wardens - eight horses were found dead on the property. Another was in such bad shape it was euthanized.
Montgomery County asked Butler County to assist because Butler County has more staff and experience with larger animals.
The other horses were in various stages of distress, standing in an open field in the pouring rain, mud up to their knees.
They are on the mend today and under the care of volunteers. Most are re-cooperating at a Maineville horse farm and four are at a veterinarian's office in Dayton.
Thompson, who has not responded to repeated requests for comment, is scheduled to appear in Kettering Municipal Court at 9 a.m. Jan. 19.
He faces up to 90 days in jail and a $750 fine on each offense, Keegan said.
Court records show Thompson was charged with animal cruelty in April 1975.
Details on the case, including its outcome, are not available because it is so old, authorities said. | Source: Cincinnatti Enquirer - Jan 11, 2007
Update posted on Jan 12, 2007 - 10:40AM |
| Horse trainers and members of the Making Strides 4-H Club will be at the Butler County Fairgrounds on Saturday to help bring seven of the malnourished horses back from the brink of death. | Source: WCPO - Dec 22, 2006
Update posted on Dec 23, 2006 - 12:33PM |
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