On March 16, acting on a call it received, the Humane Society obtained a search warrant and impounded animals at the Decliff Road residence before removing them on March 17, Lynn said.
Humane Society agents accompanied by a Marion County sheriff's deputy found 24 horses, four of which were dead; a donkey in "very poor condition;" five rabbits, two of which were dead; a sheep in "fair condition;" and two goats in "fair condition," Lynn said.
She said she gave the animals' owner two choices, telling him she could file charges, and he'd face jail time and a fine "or turn them over to me now and not own an animal for two years. He chose to give me all the animals." Individuals convicted in such cases usually receive two years probation, she said.
"It was neglect," she said, "lack of veterinarian's care, lack of farrier care. The hooves were so bad on the donkey they were curved around twice."
"It was certainly enough to impound them and rescue them and take them out of that situation," Lynn said. "The donkey in particular really bothered me. ... He was on his feet, but he could barely walk because his feet were so bad, and of course the dead horses bothered me. Just thankfully enough we got the rest of them out of there." Case UpdatesSo overgrown were the mini donkey's hooves that a power tool was needed to trim them.
"The poor, little thing was in such pain it laid down the whole time," said Lynda Balz, director for the Wyandot County Humane Society, which is providing a new home for the donkey, 17 horses and a sheep.
Acting on a phone call, Marion County Humane Society officials accompanied by a Marion County sheriff's deputy seized 20 horses, three rabbits, two goats, the sheep and the donkey and found four horses and two rabbits dead March 18 at the Marlin Adkins residence on Decliff Road.
Adkins surrendered the animals and agreed not to own an animal for two years, said Lynn Lynn, director for the Marion County Humane Society, adding that she gave Adkins the choice of turning over the animals or facing charges of cruelty to animals.
Caleb, as he's been named by the Wyandot Humane Society members, is "doing better now," Balz said. "He's on pain medication because that's so painful for anything to be in that kind of hoof condition." She said the overgrown hooves pushed the donkey's feet backward, the result being that all of its weight was resting on its ankles.
She said the donkey will need a year of veterinary and farrier care to recover from the neglect. She said the other animals were in various stages of neglect, apparently those that had arrived more recently at the Adkins property being in better condition than those that had been there longer.
Balz described the condition of the animals as the result of "extreme neglect. ... These horses were all emaciated." She described Adkins as a collector.
"I would love to tell you this is the worst case I've ever seen ..., but I can't tell you that," she said. "I have seen some that are so horrendous we had to provide counseling to the workers who rescued them."
City Law Director Mark Russell said he could not say whether he would file charges against Adkins.
"We can't say whether we will or we won't until we get a chance to review the full investigation report," Russell said, adding that the law director's office would give Lynn's report a "great deal of consideration because she's a front-line officer."
Lynn said she didn't seek charges because "if I can get the animals out of a situation and into a comfortable home, that's what I will choose first. If I go to court, I've had cases take over a year." She said animals can't be adopted out when a court case is in process because they're considered evidence. "If we can put them in a better place immediately, that's what I'm going to choose."
Balz said she agrees "substantially" with "protecting the animals first," but suspects she would pursue charges if the case was in her jurisdiction. "I'm afraid if he's not charged or convicted that that verbal agreement that he can't own animals for two years, given what he's done before, it will happen again."
A person convicted of cruelty to animals is guilty of a first-degree misdemeanor on first offense and a fifth-degree felony on each subsequent offense. The maximum penalty for a fifth-degree felony is 12 months incarceration and a $2,500 fine. The maximum penalty for a first-degree misdemeanor is six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. | Source: Marion Star - March 24, 2007
Update posted on Mar 24, 2007 - 2:39PM |
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