Case Details

Three malnourished horses seized
Carlisle, OH (US)

Incident Date: Saturday, Mar 24, 2007
County: Warren
Local Map: available
Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: John Sparks

Case Updates: 3 update(s) available

Case ID: 11144
Classification: Neglect / Abandonment
Animal: horse
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A Central Drive man faces three animal cruelty charges after three malnourished horses were rescued from the back of his garage in late March.

John Sparks, of 540 Central Ave., faces three misdemeanor counts in Carlisle Mayor's Court, which meets every Wednesday. He could be in court as soon as early April.

Carlisle police took the animals, a mare, gelding and foal, a week ago after humane officer Joshua Arms received an animal cruelty complaint. A goat and two dogs also were found at the home, but they were not taken because they appeared to be in good health.

Police placed the horses at a nearby farm with the help of Serenity Horse Rescue.

Shula Woodworth, the organization's president, said the animals were malnourished, did not have clean water and the foal had several open wounds on its body.

"It was disgusting," she said of their living conditions. "It was horrible. There was broken glass, manure, it was very unstable conditions for any animal."

The animals are recovering, but Woodworth said the foal has a 60 percent chance of survival.

Case Updates

One of three horses rescued from a Carlisle garage has died and the man accused of mistreating them pleaded not guilty in Franklin Municipal Court this week.

John Sparks, of 540 Central Ave., is charged with three counts of animal cruelty for allegedly keeping a foal, gelding and mare in unsanitary conditions without enough food or water.

The animals were removed from a garage on his property March 24 and taken to a nearby farm.

Since then, the foal, which needed

surgery, died, said Joshua Arms, humane officer with Carlisle police.

"They had to wait for it to gain weight and unfortunately it declined in health and died before they could do that," Arms said.

The two adult horses are recovering, he said.

"They seem to be in real good shape."

After his case was transferred to Franklin Municipal Court April 4, Sparks claimed he was trying to save the animals when they were taken from him.

The horses were going to be sold to a Texas slaughter house when he brought them to his Carlisle home, he said. They were in poor shape when he took them and there was plenty of food and water at his home for the horses, he said.

Sparks pleaded not guilty Tuesday to three misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty in Franklin Municipal Court and requested a court-appointed attorney. He is due back in court May 29.
Source: Middletown Journal - April 28, 2007
Update posted on Apr 28, 2007 - 1:56AM 
A 4-week-old foal rescued from deplorable living conditions in Warren County has died. The foal, known as Desperado, and two other horses were found in a Carlisle garage last month.

Desperado was allegedly starving, living amid feces and was deathly ill when rescuers found him.
Source: Channel 5 News - April 9, 2007
Update posted on Apr 10, 2007 - 2:56AM 
Three animal cruelty charges against a man police took horses from last week will be heard in Franklin Municipal Court.

Carlisle Mayor's Court Magistrate Eddie Lawson transferred the charges against John Sparks, of 540 Central Drive, to Franklin after saying he had overheard "conversations" about the allegations.

Carlisle police took three horses, a gelding, a mare and a foal, from Sparks' garage after humane officer Joshua Arms received an animal cruelty complaint last month.

Police said the animals were malnourished and the foal had open wounds on its body.

The animals were placed by Serenity Horse Rescue at a nearby farm where they are recovering.

After the brief preliminary hearing Wednesday, Sparks said he only had the horses for a short time and that he had saved the horses from being sold to a Texas slaughterhouse.

"I was rescuing the horses myself and the horse rescue come in and took them," he said. "I didn't do anything wrong. I would never hurt an animal. I'm a horse lover."

Sparks said he was in the process of putting up a fence for the animals and that there was plenty of food and water available to the horses.

Shula Woodworth, president of Serenity Horse Rescue, described a different scene when the animals were taken from Sparks garage March 24.

She said the horses' stalls had not been cleaned and there was no clean drinking water for the animals.

Sparks disputes that claim and said he plans to plead not guilty to the misdemeanor charges after they are sent to Franklin Municipal Court. A date for his next hearing has not been set.
Source: Middletown Journal - April 4, 2007
Update posted on Apr 5, 2007 - 10:32AM 

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References

Journal-News - March 30, 2007

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