8 emaciated horses seized
Delco, NC (US)Incident Date: Sunday, Jul 1, 2007
County: Columbus
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Dismissed
Case Images: 2 files available
Persons of Interest:
» Anita Hewett
» Terry Hewett
Case Updates: 3 update(s) available
A Pender County woman charged with animal cruelty had her court case continued.
Anita Hewett was charged with eight counts of animal cruelty in July 2007 by the Columbus County Animal Cruelty investigator. Hewett is accused of starving eight horses. The horses have since been placed in foster homes where they are recuperating.
Hewett court case has been rescheduled for early October 2007.
Case UpdatesMore than eight months ago Columbus County Animal Cruelty investigators confiscated eight horses after finding signs of neglect and abuse.
A couple of weeks ago investigators had to return the horses to their owner.
The case was dismissed because a county official made a mistake writing the warrant to confiscate the horses. Now those who watched the horses be nurtured back to health are trying to make sure a mistake like this does not happen again.
Elizabeth Kramer and her daughter Maddie fell in love with a pony named Tempo as they watched him be nursed back to health at the stable where they ride.
They remember how Tempo looked when he first came to the stable. They say he was starving and you could see his ribs, spine and hip bones.
To protect Tempo Elizabeth offered to buy him, but the owners -- Terry and Anita Hewett -- would not sell. Now Elizabeth is taking it a step farther, by going to county officials to get answers, hoping to ensure the health of other animals.
"I've been trying to get in touch with the county attorney to see if anything can be done from this point forward, do we have any other course of action, is there any money available for the people who boarded these horses?" Elizabeth said. "I keep getting rescheduled, rescheduled, rescheduled. I hope to have an appointment next week but this is kind of the way it is, it doesn't seem to be a priority to anyone."
The owners say they have never neglected their horses, the animals were just sick. And as for getting answers from county officials on making sure no more mistakes are made on warrants NewsChannel 3 has called the district attorney's office, the assistant DA., the Columbus County attorney and the a magistrate -- each time being re-directed or told someone would call back. That was over six hours ago and we've yet to hear anything. | Source: WWAY - April 8, 2008
Update posted on Apr 8, 2008 - 4:20PM |
About eight months ago a family in the Delco area had eight horses taken away after animal cruelty investigators say they found evidence of neglect and abuse. Monday the family got the horses back, but not without some concern from those who helped re-nourish the animals.
The horses were taken away because investigators say they were severely underweight and now they're being returned to their owners because of a paperwork snafu.
Donna Ryan fostered three of the horses. She says when the horses came to her they were malnourished, had worms and their hooves were damaged.
The horses are being returned to their original owners because of a paperwork error at the courthouse in Columbus County. The court says the horses must be returned because of an improper search warrant.
The owner of the horses did not want to go on camera but says the animals were sick, which explained their low weight.
Animal cruelty investigator Lisa Hartman isn't happy with the decision.
Hartman said, "Sick. It's been almost eight months, a lot of time, money and labor of love to only have them returned to the same situation."
Hartman added she'll continue to check on these animals in the future. Hartman is working with NC State Animal Cruelty officials to make sure clerical errors like this don't happen again in other cases. | Source: WWAY - March 18, 2008
Update posted on Mar 18, 2008 - 4:51PM |
A Pender County couple charged with animal cruelty have continued their court case for a second time.
Anita and Terry Hewett were charged with eight counts of animal cruelty in July. They are accused of starving eight horses.
The Hewetts are scheduled to be back in court December 5.
The eight horses have been placed in foster homes where they continue to recuperate and put on weight. | Source: WWAY - Oct 8, 2007
Update posted on Oct 9, 2007 - 12:32AM |
References« NC State Animal Cruelty Map
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