Horse neglect - four seized
Arcadia, NY (US)

Incident Date: Thursday, Sep 25, 2008
County: Wayne

Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Anita Reed

A woman from Arcadia is facing five charges of animal cruelty today after police found what they described as emaciated animals at her home.

Four horses and a dog were seized from her property in the village of Newark and another horse was put down immediately.

Makra has a healthy appetite today. At Cracker Box Palace Animal Rescue Farm, the 11-year-old thoroughbred has plenty or room to graze and recover. Last week, she and three other horses arrived in bad condition.

Farm manager Cheri Roloson said, “They were thin, they had a lot of ribs, a lot of bones showing but again, they didn't have water, and dehydration is one of the big ones and just getting them water and their minerals seemed to add. They look better already.”

Police and the Humane Society seized the horses from property in Arcadia where police say they lacked proper water or food. Former owner Anita Reed now faces five counts of animal cruelty but she says she never would have done anything to hurt her horses.

“I haven't been able to afford grain. They’ve had hay, plenty of good hay ever since I came here. I just haven't been able to afford grain,” Reed said.

She says the one horse that was put down on her property was already sick from a type of cancer. “The one that was sick was emaciated, and the other thoroughbred was very thin. The other three were a little on the thin side.”

But an animal cruelty investigator says he was aware of problems with reed's animals since July of this year. Wayne Animal Cruelty Investigator Bob Howard said, “She had too many animals and she couldn't take care of them. She was advised of that in the past and she just, she was way, way in over her head.”

Roloson says it's a simple recipe that will get these horses fitter, stronger and ready to ride. “Love, care, feed, water. It's amazing. It's amazing to watch them get better. You know that's what we look forward to.”

Reed will appear in Arcadia town court on October 22. She faces a maximum of one year for each of those five charges of animal cruelty.

To learn more about animal rescue and the animal haven at Alasa Farms, - Sept 28, 2008

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