Horse owner charged
Milford, MA (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Jan 29, 2008
County: Worcester
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 3 files available
Alleged: Elliot S. Saffran
Case Updates: 7 update(s) available
Crippled by severe arthritis and weak legs, Quincy, a 29-year-old mare, frequently collapses in her barn at Over the Hill Farm.
Several veterinarians who have treated Quincy recommended she be destroyed to end her misery.
Because Quincy's owner, Elliot S. Saffran of Milford, has refused such advice and "willfully subjected the animal to suffer," he has been charged with animal cruelty.
Responding to a complaint from a farm employee, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals visited Quincy last month and charged Saffran, 57, with one count of animal abuse.
According to court documents, an MSPCA officer found Quincy leaning against the stable wall to hold herself up. She was covered in bandages, one which protected a deep abrasion on her left hip.
Accompanied by Uxbridge Animal Control Officer Joyce Gareri, Officer Nadya Branca said the bay mare appeared to suffer from severe arthritis, a bad knee and a lack of strength. Horses can live 30 to 40 years.
Old Quincy is unsteady on her feet, thin and mentally unaware, doctors have said. Court documents say the mare has been hospitalized and kept in several barns over the past year.
According to court documents, proprietor Sandy Wedge said the horse falls at least three times a week.
On several occasions, Saffran used "rough methods" to get Quincy up, including throwing cold water in her face and pulling her aggressively. He also forced Quincy to walk around the property using a "crop," or whip, court documents said.
Saffran, of 26 Debbie Lane, has been accused of willfully permitting the animal to be subjected to unnecessary suffering, court documents said. His attorney, Peter Padula, filed a motion to dismiss the case at his Jan. 29 arraignment in Uxbridge District Court.
"The defendant states at all he times he has made arrangements with his own veterinarian and allowed the stable boarding his horse to deliver medical treatment to his horse as necessary," Padula wrote in the motion. "After discussions with his own veterinarian, the defendant has no reason to believe that the horse is suffering."
Saffran is due back for a pretrial conference March 11.
According to court records, Saffran inconsistently provides oral anti-inflammatory medication to Quincy's caretakers at Over the Hill Farm.
Due to Saffran's lack of cooperation, Wedge has asked him to remove Quincy from her property.
Yesterday, Uxbridge Police and MSPCA officials visited the horse at Over the Hill Farm, but declined comment.
It is unknown how long Quincy will remain at the Uxbridge farm.
Dr. Kris Koss, who treated Quincy, said the horse was "thin" and "arthritic."
"She shouldn't be in a regular stable," Koss wrote in a court document.
Koss and Dr. Joseph Merriam said Quincy needed to be killed immediately, court records said.
Wedge at Over the Hill farm declined to comment yesterday and attempts to reach Saffran were unsuccessful.
Peter Gollub, MSPCA director of law enforcement, also declined to elaborate on the case.
Case UpdatesDespite requests from the defense for more information about a horse owner's alleged offenses, the judge in the animal cruelty case said yesterday that the case should move along.
The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in January charged Elliot S. Saffran with animal cruelty for willfully subjecting his horse, 29-year-old Quincy, to suffering.
Judge Paul Losapio denied the motion from Peter Padula, Saffran's attorney, for a bill of particulars.
All evidence must be produced by June 3, Losapio ordered in Uxbridge District Court yesterday. The court set a date of June 24 for election, when the defense will decide how it wants to proceed, with such possibilities as a jury trial and a bench trial.
"Let's end this one way or another," Losapio said. "This goes back to January."
Padula said earlier that he wanted more specifics about the charge, such as place and time of alleged offenses.
"I don't know what I'm defending against," Padula said.
Padula cited the allegation that Saffran threw water in Quincy's face to get her up.
"When did it happen?" Padula said. "Who was there?"
The prosecution has provided numerous materials, including Tufts University medical records and a witness list, said Assistant District Attorney Robert Pellegrini.
"I think we've gone above and beyond in this case," Pellegrini said.
Losapio allowed Pellegrini's motion to mail a summons for medical records of the horse by an out-of-state provider.
At the request of Saffran about one month ago, the MSPCA took the horse to the hospital, but officials have not given the location.
Padula said he was opposed to the summons. Padula had not reviewed the motion, as it was filed yesterday, he said.
"All it's asking to do is have a doctor send a copy of the report about the condition of the horse," Losapio said.
Padula said he does not know if that report contains confidential data.
"There may be a confidentiality issue regarding the doctor and the patient - the horse," Padula said, as the crowd murmured.
As he left the courthouse, Padula said he had no comment.
Authorities say Saffran has refused to euthanize the horse, despite the urging of several veterinarians. Saffran has said his own veterinarian says the horse is not suffering.
Quincy has severe arthritis and weak legs, according to court documents.
Before the hearing, Saffran said caretakers of the horse have made false allegations against him.
Jodie-May Rose, the horse's caretaker about a year ago, did not feed Quincy, Saffran said.
Rose said that comment is untrue.
"He knows that's not true," Rose said. "The vet told him what needed to be done. He refused veterinary advice when she was with me. I did everything in my power that I could to help her without overstepping my bounds."
Saffran, of Debbie Lane, Milford, said he had Quincy moved to the Tufts University Veterinary School for treatment about a year ago, where he said she recovered.
"There is absolutely no way that horse has recovered," Rose said outside the courthouse. "I told him if he listened to the (veterinarian), she would be doing 100 times better. He denied it. She went downhill."
Sandy Wedge, the proprietor of Over the Hill Farm in Uxbridge, where Quincy was kept until being taken to the hospital, also fed the mare improperly, Saffran said.
"Quincy continued to get progressively worse," said Saffran, 57.
Wedge was not at the hearing yesterday. However, a group of people who say the horse should be euthanized humanely, again made it to the courthouse.
"The judge really wants to expedite this," Rose said.
Rose added that she was upset that the condition of the horse did not come up.
Quincy has done as well as can be expected, said Peter Gollub, director of law enforcement for the MSPCA. Gollub said he could not comment specifically on her condition.
Gollub said he was not surprised at the scheduling of another court date.
"I was a little surprised that the defense counsel seemed a bit taken aback that materials were produced to him, when they were produced in part as a result of his request," Gollub said.
If there are any other motions concerning evidence, they must be made before June 24, Losapio said.
"(It has been) six months," Losapio said. "You'd think we'd be able to get this accomplished." | Source: Milford Daily News - May 7, 2008
Update posted on May 7, 2008 - 3:06PM |
An elderly, arthritic mare in Massachusetts has become the subject of a virtual tug-of-war between the social networking site MySpace.com and a supporter of the horse.
A MySpace page devoted to the mare Quincy was taken down, put back up and taken down again, said Kendra Olson, its creator. Olson said MySpace gave her no explanation, reported WCVB-TV in Boston.
Olson has been leading an effort urging Quincy's owner, Elliot S. Saffran of Milford, Mass., to euthanize her and end her suffering.
In the six days it had been up, the page, which contained video of the 29-year-old mare struggling to walk, had received 3,256 views from people worldwide, dozens of whom left messages for Saffran to euthanize her.
After MySpace removed the page Friday, Olson put it back up again.
But by late afternoon, she received a message from MySpace warning that it was going to remove the page again.
"I'm not going to stop," Olson told the Boston Herald. "We're not vigilantes. We just want this horse, who has no voice, to be allowed to pass with some dignity and respect."
The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals visited Quincy in January and charged Saffran, 57, for "willfully subjecting the animal to suffer." He was charged with one count of animal cruelty.
However, Saffran, 57, told the Milford Daily News that the horse is not suffering.
"And we have veterinary reports that say it's not suffering," Saffran said, adding that he expects a jury trial. | Source: KCRA - April 12, 2008
Update posted on Apr 14, 2008 - 2:35PM |
An equine right-to-die struggle over an elderly, arthritic horse is being fought on the Internet and in court, where the old bay mare’s owner is facing cruelty charges.
The case for euthanasia for Quincy, a 29-year-old bay mare who is plagued with sores and can barely stand, is being championed by animal-welfare advocates, who have given the horse her own MySpace [website] page detailing her plight.
“She’s taken a group of divergent people and managed to galvanize them,” said Jane Belleville, a Mendon horse trainer who boarded Quincy nine years ago. “No animal should suffer like this animal is suffering.”
But Quincy’s owner, Elliot S. Saffran, 57, of Milford, refuses to have the old horse put down. Saffran is due in Uxbridge District Court May 6 to answer one count of animal cruelty. He could face up to five years in prison and a $2,500 fine. Neither he nor his attorney returned calls seeking comment.
The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was called on Jan. 15 to an Uxbridge farm where Saffran had been boarding Quincy since October 2007. The MSPCA officer said he found Quincy unsteady on her feet, her front left knee swollen and crossed in front of her right front leg. An employee at the farm told the officer the horse collapsed at least three times a week and was unable to get up. The MSPCA took custody of the horse, which is being kept at an undisclosed animal hospital.
In a report he later filed, the officer said he spoke to three different veterinarians who had examined Quincy, and all three believed that the horse was suffering unnecessarily and should be euthanized. One said that another option might be a “hospice-type environment” where Quincy would receive 24-hour supervision, but the veterinarian did not know of such a facility.
A Tufts University veterinarian found Quincy to be “mentally unaware, anemic” with “muscle atrophy, some neurological dysfunction, abnormal joints, poor teeth and significant pain due to arthritis.” That vet said she “would have been comfortable euthanizing her at that point.”
Jodie-May Rose, who boarded Quincy at her Uxbridge barn from October 2006 to September 2007, said even then, the horse used the stall walls to support herself. Saffran would continue to exercise her vigorously, she said.
“He just thought she was being stubborn,” she said. “He would say, ‘She’ll walk it off.’ But you can’t walk off a deformed limb.”
Peter Gollub, the MSPCA’s director of law enforcement, said the MSPCA could have sought a court order to euthanize Quincy, but didn’t want a more protracted legal battle, and is awaiting resolution of the cruelty charge.
“In this case, we’ve been working to arrive at a solution that’s in the horse’s best interests,” Gollub said. “We’ve heard some frustrations voiced about the pace of things. It’s frustrating for us, too.” | Source: Boston Herald - April 11, 2008
Update posted on Apr 11, 2008 - 11:27AM |
The controversial Massachusetts animal cruelty case involving a geriatric mare that some animal welfare advocates maintain should be euthanized was continued to May 6 during a pre-trial hearing today in Uxbridge District Court.
"We're pressing forward with the case," said Tim Connolly, spokesman for the Worcester County District Attorney's Office. "All that happened in court today had to do with compliance and election."
Connolly explained that attorneys on both sides were ordered to share information pertinent to the case, and that the horse's owner Elliot Saffran of Milford, Mass., must decide whether he wants a jury or a bench trial if the case does, in fact, go to trial.
Richard LeBlond, deputy chief of law enforcement with the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA), said yesterday that the charges against Saffran could have been dropped if he agreed to euthanize Quincy, a 29-year-old mare.
According to LeBlond, the deal was designed to prevent the horse's continued suffering while the case wound its way through the court system.
Neither LeBlond nor Connolly would comment on the deal today, nor state whether it was offered during the hearing.
Saffron was charged with animal cruelty for "willfully allowing an animal to suffer" last January when an employee at the facility where Quincy was boarded complained to the MSPCA that the horse was frail, unsteady on her feet, and suffered from deep abrasions. | Source: The Horse Magazine - April 8, 2008
Update posted on Apr 9, 2008 - 10:09AM |
A controversial Massachusetts horse cruelty case might be resolved in court April 8 if the horse's owner agrees to euthanize the mare in question.
According to Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' (MSPCA) Deputy Chief Law Enforcement Officer Richard LeBlond, felony animal cruelty charges against horse owner Elliot Saffran, will be dropped in a pre-trial hearing in Uxbridge District Court if Saffran agrees to euthanize Quincy, a 29-year old mare suffering from a myriad of ailments. Veterinarians from the unnamed equine clinic currently treating the horse will testify whether euthanasia is appropriate in the case, LeBlond said.
Saffran was charged with animal cruelty last January after MSPCA investigators found the horse suffering from a knee injury and unable to stand due to arthritis.
The case garnered widespread attention when animal welfare advocates accused MSPCA of prolonging the horse's suffering when the group declined to exercise its legal right under Massachusetts law to euthanize the geriatric horse.
However, LeBlond said the MSPCA chose not to exercise that option because veterinarians who had previously treated Quincy disagreed on her condition.
"We believe the best thing is to put her down," he said. "But we’ve had conflicting vet reports (suggesting that) under medication she's alert, eating, and drinking."
Also, he said, MSPCA would need a court order or be awarded legal custody of the animal in order to euthanize her. The legal process could invite a protracted series of lengthy appeals by Quincy's owner, he said.
"That wouldn't have been in the best interest of the horse," LeBlond said.
Attorney Diane Sullivan, professor of law at the Massachusetts School of Law in Andover, Mass., and architect of the school's animal welfare law curriculum, said Massachusetts' animal cruelty laws do not specifically recognize failure to euthanize sick or injured animals as cruelty. | Source: The Horse Magazine - April 7, 2008
Update posted on Apr 8, 2008 - 8:38AM |
Milford man facing an animal cruelty charge enlisted the assistance of the state humane society yesterday to help care for his ailing horse, Quincy.
At the request of Elliot S. Saffran, 57, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals transported his 29-year-old mare to a hospital in an equine ambulance yesterday, said spokesman Brian Adams.
Saffran's action could lead the MSPCA to drop the cruelty charge.
"Throughout this investigation, there has never been a closed door," he said. "Anything is up for consideration."
For now, the MSPCA is "still looking out for the safety of the horse," Adams said.
The MSPCA charged Saffran with animal cruelty in January for "willfully subjecting the animal to suffer."
Authorities say Saffran has refused to euthanize the horse, despite the urging of several veterinarians and caretakers. He has said his own veterinarian says the horse is not suffering.
In a stable at Over the Hill Farm in Uxbridge, where Saffran boards her, Quincy is crippled by severe arthritis and weak legs, unsteady on her feet, thin and mentally unaware, according to Uxbridge Animal Control Officer Joyce Gareri and doctors referred to in court documents.
Adams said the equine ambulance safely carried Quincy to a private facility where she received an examination and proper care. He would not specify where Quincy is being treated.
It is unknown if Saffran or the MSPCA paid for the hospital fees.
Adams said the ambulance program operates without a fee, but the society requests donations for its use.
Saffran could not be reached for comment at his Debbie Lane home yesterday.
Over the Hill Farm proprietor Sandy Wedge had little to say yesterday.
"I wish the animal the best," she said. "I hope she's comfortable."
Jane Belleville, who kept Quincy in her barn at Whispering Belles Farm on Millville Road in Mendon about nine years ago, was upset yesterday morning after learning Quincy had been picked up by the MSPCA.
"The people who have taken care of her over the years (should) be with her so that she knows some inkling of love," said an emotional Belleville. "This horse deserves a better ending."
Adams maintains the MSPCA's equine ambulance is safe, but Belleville worried about moving Quincy.
"Why bother putting the horse through pain and being transported on that bad leg?" Belleville asked. "That's cruel and abusive."
Saffran is scheduled to appear in Uxbridge District Court Tuesday for another pretrial conference.
In court last month, MSPCA Director of Law Enforcement Peter Gollub said Saffran's failure to euthanize the horse is cruel and "causing it to suffer unnecessarily."
Gollub said the department was trying to work out a quick resolution but lacked the sole authority to remove the horse from the farm.
Although court documents said Saffran inconsistently provides oral anti-inflammatory medication to Quincy's caretakers, Saffran said he provides his horse with proper care.
"The horse has always had pain medications, supplied for by me and paid for by me," he has said. "The horse will be cared for and that's it."
Belleville disagrees.
"The people who have donated time, energy, bandages - this is their horse, it's not Elliot Saffran's," she said. "They're the ones who have a vested interest in this horse." | Source: Milford Daily News - April 1, 2008
Update posted on Apr 4, 2008 - 1:07PM |
When Andrea Carman was 17 she bought her first horse: a 3-year-old, "high-quality, well-bred mare" named Quincy.
Quincy, born from a champion of the prestigious American Quarter Horse Association, was healthy and carefree during her 11 years in Carman's care.
When Carman learned the mare - now 29 years old - was suffering from crippling arthritis and potential abuse, she said it was her "worst nightmare."
"It's horribly upsetting to know what this kind mare has gone through," said Carman, who shows and breeds horses from her family farm in Shirley. "This is my worst nightmare."
Quincy's current owner, Elliot S. Saffran of Milford, has been charged with animal cruelty for "willfully subjecting the animal to suffer."
Authorities say Saffran has refused to euthanize the horse, despite the urging of several veterinarians and caretakers.
The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals brought the charge against Saffran, 57, after visiting Quincy at Over the Hill Farm in Uxbridge earlier this year.
Saffran boards Quincy at the Over the Hill Farm.
An MSPCA officer found Quincy leaning against the stable wall to hold herself up. She was covered in bandages, one which protected a deep abrasion on her left hip, court documents said.
The bay mare appeared to suffer from severe arthritis, a bad knee and lack of strength. Old Quincy is unsteady on her feet, thin and mentally unaware, doctors have said.
Carman, who lives in Shirley, said she hasn't seen Quincy since she sold the horse in 1993.
"I can't handle seeing her," Carman said. "I'd be haunted by seeing her."
Jane Belleville, who kept Quincy in her barn at Whispering Belles Farm on Millville Road in Mendon about nine years ago, visited Quincy at the Over the Hill Farm on Johnson Road yesterday.
She described the mare's front left leg as "totally deformed."
"Arthritis in her knee has caused the lower leg bones to jut in at a 30 degree angle ... to the point that her hoof cannot be trimmed flat anymore, it has to be at an angle," Belleville said.
Belleville is one of many advocates who have rallied around Quincy, hoping to put an end to her misery.
"We're trying to make Quincy a poster child for animal abuse," she said. "This horse deserves better than what's she being given."
According to court documents, Saffran inconsistently provides oral anti-inflammatory medication to Quincy's caretakers.
On several occasions, Saffran used "rough methods" to get Quincy up, including throwing cold water in her face and pulling her aggressively. He also forced Quincy to walk around the property using a "crop," or whip, court documents said.
Carman, who frequently breeds and sells show horses, defined this as a worst case scenario.
"Unfortunately if a horse ends up in the wrong person's hands, it could be a death sentence," Carman said.
Over the Hill Farm proprietor Sandy Wedge could not elaborate on Quincy's condition yesterday, but voiced frustration over the drawn out legal process.
"The MSPCA lacks (enough) jurisdiction. Their hands are tied," Wedge said. "Humans needs to be the voice for animals."
"They can't step in to do what's right for the animal, and that's sad because if it was a case of child abuse, they would remove the child from the home while investigation was ongoing," Wedge added.
Saffran, who has owned Quincy for about 15 years, retains ownership of the horse.
He appeared in Uxbridge District Court yesterday and the case was continued because his attorney broke his leg. A pretrial conference is scheduled for March 18.
Saffran could not be reached for comment yesterday and officials at the MSPCA declined to comment.
A motion to dismiss filed by Saffran's lawyer, Peter Padula, on Jan. 29, though, states, "The defendant states at all times he has made arrangements with his own veterinarian and allowed the stable boarding his horse to deliver medical treatment to his horse as necessary. After discussions with his own veterinarian, the defendant has no reason to believe the horse is suffering."
In the meantime, Wedge cares for Quincy and does everything she can to keep her pain at bay.
"Quincy is safe here," said Wedge, who has cared for the horse for the past six months.
"It brings me comfort that someone is taking very good care of her in her last days," Carman said. "Now she's getting the care and love she knew the first half of her life." | Source: Wicked Local - March 12, 2008
Update posted on Mar 12, 2008 - 2:00PM |
References« MA State Animal Cruelty Map
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