Horse neglect
Carnation, WA (US)Incident Date: Friday, Feb 22, 2008
County: King
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 2 files available
Defendant/Suspect: Jean Marie Elledge
Case Updates: 4 update(s) available
Dozens of horses are dead or dying in the worst animal cruelty case some local rescuers have seen.
A woman is under arrest after deputies seized ten of her horses in Carnation and ten in Monroe. Other horses were found dead.
Rescuers named one of the foals Phoenix in hopes he will rise from the ashes. Phoenix was starving and infested with lice when rescuers found him Friday.
"There is a chance he could still die," said Dr. Hannah Evergreen. "We got him out as quickly as we could to the hospital for stabilization but he's still not out of the woods."
All the horses were suffering. Their skins were literally rotting away because of pooling water on their backs. No one has cared for their hooves. Their bellies look fat, but that's because they're loaded with worms. All the horses were severely emaciated.
Snohomish County investigators won't confirm whether they found any dead horses on the Monroe farm, but KOMO 4 News has confirmed that four mares were found dead on the Carnation farm.
"It was horrifying. It was a bunch of walking skeletons on the property," says Evergreen. "And then to find the dead horses was horrific to know that we didn't get there in time for all of them."
The case shocked even the experienced rescuers.
"The worst, by far the worst that I have seen," said rescuer Jaime Taft of Save a Forgotten Equine. "I've been doing rescue for three years. I've seen some pretty tough cases but not in the quantity or the magnitude."
Most of the rescued horses can recover, but it may take up to a year before they are healthy and adoptable.
In the meantime, rescue groups could use your help.
Case UpdatesA Fall City woman whose property was littered with dead and dying horses pleaded guilty in King County Superior Court on Thursday to three felony counts of first-degree animal cruelty.
Jean Elledge, 56, faces about a year in jail when sentenced on Oct 17.
According to court documents, Elledge told police that she ran facilities to board and breed horses in Fall City and Monroe. She was arrested by King County sheriff's deputies Feb. 23; the day before she had been arrested by authorities in Snohomish County after they found several horses dead on her property in Monroe.
A veterinarian brought in by King County deputies found four dead horses on the Fall City property and determined that nine other horses needed to be removed from Elledge's care, court papers said. Detectives were unable to find food or drinkable water for the animals, court papers said.
Elledge has been charged with first-degree animal cruelty in Snohomish County and is slated to be tried later this year. | Source: Seattle Times - Aug 29, 2008
Update posted on Aug 29, 2008 - 4:35PM |
A Carnation woman who was charged last week with animal cruelty in King County faces five more counts of first-degree animal cruelty in Snohomish County after she allegedly let six other horses starve to death on her property near Monroe.
Authorities seized surviving horses from Jean Marie Elledge's properties in Monroe and Carnation last month after animal control agents found dead and undernourished horses in her fields, according to court documents.
King County officers found four dead horses and took 10 starving animals after raiding her boarding and breeding business in Carnation.
Snohomish County authorities seized 10 horses and found five dead, according to documents. A sixth starving horse was so sick it had to be put down after being rescued, documents said.
Elledge, 56, could face even more charges in Snohomish County Superior Court, deputy prosecutor Walt Sowa said in charging papers.
Sowa said more animal cruelty charges would be filed "if this case is not resolved with a plea agreement acceptable to the state."
Elledge told King County authorities said she has 12 years of experience boarding and breeding horses, according to court papers. She allegedly told investigators that she hired unreliable people to help her run her two horse farms.
Elledge said she didn't think that her horses were in poor condition, according to documents. The dead horses included some of hers and some that were being boarded on her properties.
Elledge, who is free on bail, could not be reached for comment Thursday night.
Since July, Snohomish County animal control officer Lisa Lyons has been in repeated contact with Elledge concerning proper feeding and care of the animals, Sowa said.
In December, the officer met with Elledge and told her some of the horses on her Monroe property were a little thin and needed extra hay because it was winter and there was no grass for them to eat.
She also told Elledge that in the cold and wind the animals needed extra energy to keep warm and healthy.
"Elledge assured (the officer) that she would start feeding more to the horses," Sowa said.
On Jan. 22, Lyons received a complaint that two stallions were down, stuck in the mud and would die if they didn't get help. When she arrived, Lyons found two "very, very thin" dead horses.
Two days later, a veterinarian examined the horses on Elledge's property and advised her how to nourish her other undernourished animals. Lyons also went over the feeding instruction with Elledge, Sowa said.
On Feb. 19 Lyons was told that two more horses had died, and she found a third newly dead horse when she went to the property. According to marks in the ground, two of the horses went down and tried to get back on their feet but couldn't, Sowa said.
Lyons inspected the feed grain at small horse trailer near the pasture.
"There was not enough to feed all the horses and it was of poor quality, moldy and sour smelling with no nutritional value," Sowa said. | Source: Herald Net - March 7, 2008
Update posted on Mar 9, 2008 - 12:12PM |
A Carnation woman who runs a horse-breeding and boarding business was charged today with three counts of felony first-degree animal cruelty after animal-control officers said they found four dead horses, an emaciated foal on the brink of death and nine other horses without food or drinkable water on her property.
Jean Marie Elledge, 56, faces up to a year in jail if convicted.
King County animal-control officers went out to Elledge's property after they were contacted a week ago by officials in Snohomish County, who are investigating the alleged abuses of horses on property she owns in Monroe.
Animal control officers who visited the Carnation property with a veterinarian found the youngest horse dehydrated and near death, according to the charging documents. A search of the property then revealed nine other emaciated horses, four dead horses located around the property, and a lack of grass and drinkable water, according to charging documents.
Five horses belonging to others seemed in good condition and were left, the documents stated. Elledge told the officers that she had been boarding and breeding for a living for 12 years, according to the documents.
Local horse advocates say that mistreatment of horses in the rural areas of King, Pierce and Snohomish counties has been on the rise in recent months, spurred by a spike in hay and fuel costs, the practice of "hoarding" the animals, and even the manufacture of hormone-replacement drugs from pregnant horses' urine.
Over the past two months alone in King County, animal-control officers have seized dozens of horses from at least three properties, including Elledge's Carnation ranch, a Renton property where one horse died and 15 were taken three weeks ago after they were discovered eating their own feces, and a Covington property where starving livestock were removed, according to Al Dams, acting director of King County Animal Care and Control.
Dams said his office doesn't track individual horse-abuse cases, but anecdotally those cases appear to be on the rise.
One reason, he said, is that more people are moving into King County's rural areas.
"People who previously lived in the city are getting 5 or 10 acres, and they may get a horse without fully understanding how to take care of a horse," he said.
Horse rescuers from several local nonprofits say the rising cost of hay is also a major factor. The price of hay has soared in recent years, adding to the expense of boarding horses, said Jenny Edwards, executive director for Woodinville-based Hope For Horses, which rescues horses around Western Washington.
Elledge, who stated that she couldn't recall the last time her horses saw a vet, told a sheriff's deputy that she had been having financial problems, according to charging papers.
Edwards also said much of the reported abuse stems from owners' "personality" and from a phenomenon several horse advocates have witnessed: hoarding. Often, these people mean well when they adopt or purchase horses, but quickly get in over their head.
"It's psychological. These people truly cannot see what is right in front of their eyes - they think they're providing for these animals," said Jaime Taft, president of Save a Forgotten Equine, the Monroe-based rescue group keeping six of the horses from Elledge's ranch.
The horse market has also suffered a glut in recent years because of the use of pregnant-mare urine in the manufacture of hormone-replacement drugs like Premarin, used to treat menopausal women, according to industry experts. Mares that are kept continually pregnant for several years before becoming useless to the industry along with the foals they bear are flooding auctions, tempting horse owners who cannot afford to care for them, Edwards said.
King County sheriff's deputies are still investigating the case of a Renton man whose horses were seized earlier this month. The man owns and operates a downtown Seattle horse-carriage company and was cited recently by the city for having a lame horse.
They were called to his property and found 15 horses being fed moldy bread and spoiled food from a local food bank, according to a search warrant document. The animals had lice, were submerged in deep mud and had no clean water.
Officers called a vet, who developed a care plan with the owner. The animal control officer returned twice within the next week to check the horses. On Feb. 6, one was found by the vet to have died from a stomach rupture due to having been fed low-grade hay, according to the documents.
King County prosecutors are also pursuing a case against Covington resident Jake Dean Rider, also known as Larry Blanchard, who is charged with one count of first-degree animal cruelty, for allegedly mistreating animals and causing the death of a horse in December. | Source: Seattle Times - Feb 27, 2008
Update posted on Mar 3, 2008 - 12:30AM |
More than two dozen dead and starving horses have been found in King and Snohomish counties, all apparently owned by the same person. She is now under investigation for animal cruelty, and it's not the first time she's been accused of starving an animal to death.
Named Phoenix by his rescuers, one colt was so starved and dehydrated, he went straight to an animal hospital.
"I do not think he would have survived the week. After seeing the dead bodies line up, it really solidified that in my mind," said Monroe veterinarian Hannah Evergreen.
The rescuers who helped save the horses say it was one horror story after another on a Carnation property where they helped animal control officers serve a warrant.
One little white horse was so hungry, it was trying to nurse off a six-month-old colt.
A mare was dying trying to nurse her sick baby.
Four horses were found dead. The ten survivors have lice, parasites, hoof ailments and skin disease called "rain rot."
"It's the worst I've ever seen. Been doing rescue three years, never seen anything like this," said Jamie Taft of the group Save a Forgotten Equine.
King County arrested the 56-year-old woman caring for the horses on multiple counts of animal cruelty. But at her bail hearing, her family painted a much different picture.
"My sister doesn't have a cruel bone in her body. She's such a loving person."
The judge wasn't sympathetic.
"This is a dangerous human being who can't see to take care of horses or to get help from the many agencies available," said Judge Richard Bathum, King County Superior Court.
In fact, it's not the first time the woman, who has recently lived in King and Snohomish Counties, has been charged with animal cruelty. Veterinarian Dana Bridges testified against her eight years ago the woman was charged with starving to death a two-year-old filly.
"She had pressure sores the size of dinner plates on her hips. It was the saddest thing I've ever seen," said Bridges.
But the charge was dismissed after the jury failed to reach a verdict.
Now, there are new allegations involving sick and dead animals in two counties.
These are only a few of the horses found in dire straits. In fact, their owner is also under investigation in Snohomish County for Animal Cruelty. On Friday, animal control officers seized ten horses from a property she rents in Monroe. KING 5 News is told there were several dead horses there as well.
King County expects charges to be filed later this week. Snohomish County will not say when it will file charges. | Source: King 5 - Feb 26, 2008
Update posted on Feb 27, 2008 - 12:10AM |
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