Animal Abuse: Numerous horses, dogs and birds seized - Middleton, NH

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Case ID: 16960

Classification: Hoarding

Animal: dog (non pit-bull), horse, bird (pet), pig

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Attorneys/Judges

Prosecutor(s):	Thomas Velardi
Judge(s):	Susan Ashley

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Case #16960 Rating: 2.8 out of 5

Numerous horses, dogs and birds seized
Middleton, NH (US)

Incident Date: Wednesday, Mar 24, 2010
County: Strafford

Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 4 files available

Defendant/Suspect: Albert Colburn

Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

Authorities seized numerous horses, dogs and birds from the Pleasant Valley Farm on Route 153 Wednesday in what New Hampshire SPCA officials have called the worst case of animal neglect they have ever seen.

The property at 98 Route 153 came to police attention Tuesday evening after a town police officer was called there to assist property owner Albert Colburn with a horse stuck in the mud, according to a release issued by the Middleton Police Department.

The SPCA says the mud was actually manure more than two feet deep, and the exhausted horse had to be euthanized.

Firefighters from town and neighboring Milton were called in to help and eventually a veterinarian was called in to put down the horse.

A search warrant was later secured and it was executed on Wednesday when police and authorities from the New Hampshire Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Strafford County Sheriff's Department descended upon the property. That visit revealed other animals living in a yard littered with the carcasses of horses, dogs and llamas.

Officials on Wednesday removed three horses, nine dogs and four birds. The surviving horses include a young colt in serious condition. The emaciated dogs are mostly German shorthaired pointers.

There was no room in the rescue trucks for two large pigs and their piglets, which are supposed to be moved at a later date.

The rescued animals have been taken to various shelters.

The SPCA's Steve Sprowl told WMUR the property owner is a hoarder who let conditions get out of control.

Foster's attempted to speak with Colburn at his property Wednesday evening but no one answered the door.

The property had trash in the driveway and chickens could be heard in the backyard. A black pig was walking freely in the driveway. There was also a red jeep parked on the property.

Middleton Police Chief Randy Sobel couldn't be reached for additional comment about how many animals were seized from the property. Police didn't provide any additional details on Wednesday night.

The incident remains under investigation and Colburn has not been charged with any crime.

Officials at the Cocheco Valley Humane Society and the TNT Equine Clinic also assisted on Wednesday, according to the police release.

Case Updates

A District Court judge found the owner of Pleasant Valley Farm in Middleton guilty of 11 counts of animal cruelty Tuesday and forbid him from owning animals for three years.

Albert Colburn, 70, of 98 Route 153, went to trial Tuesday on allegations he neglected to provide adequate food, water and shelter to dogs and horses on his Middleton farm. Colburn, a former Farmington school teacher of 30 years and a University of New Hampshire graduate with a biology degree, not only denied the state's allegations, but wanted to get his animals back.

Officials who visited the farm on March 23 and 24 described the scene as the worst case of neglect they had seen. Those officials, from interim Middleton Fire Chief Lon Berry and Middleton police officer Dave Winship, Jr., to veterinarians and a member of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, testified about the deplorable conditions Tuesday.

A variety of animals lived on the farm, including birds, pigs, llamas, dogs and horses. Officials testified they found animals in emaciated states with inadequate food and water. Winship said he found a deceased black lab in a cage that Colburn told him "had been there for a couple months."

"Everywhere you walked around the property you were seeing skeletal remains," said Steven Sprowl, a SPCA investigator.

Police and firefighters were called to Pleasant Valley Farm to assist with moving a horse that was stuck in the mud. Witnesses said the mud was actually a knee-deep mixture of mud and feces.

Berry said Milton firefighters were called in to assist his department, but even with 15-20 firefighters trying for hours, they were unable to get the horse named Scarlet to stand up.

"She'd fall back down and we tried again," he said. Throughout the effort, the horse showed no signs of strength, had labored breathing and rolled her eyes into the back of her head, Berry said.

According to Colburn, who took the stand in his own defense, the horse was "cast" in the stall, which occurs when the horse lies down too close to a wall and gets stuck.

"She got cast and she was totally panic-stricken. We tried everything in our power to get her up," he said. "In my head I knew Scarlet was going to have to be euthanized."

Dr. Elizabeth Xavier, an equine veterinarian with TNT Equine in Dover, was called to the farm late on the night of March 23. With only the illumination of a flashlight and headlamp, she checked on the horse through "thick mud and manure up to my knees."

She described the scene as "shocking," saying there was no bedding and the horse was breathing in agony with other horses clustered around her. The downed horse had mud and manure in her nose and eyes that Xavier "scooped" out. The horse was near-comatose and her gums were white, a sign of shock, she said.

The next day, Sprowl removed eight dogs and a number of other animals. He said the conditions in the kennel had the dogs in close contact with mud, feces and urine.

"For the most part they were out running around in the mud and feces," he said. "My concern was that (the deceased dogs) had starved to death" and had been "thrown out like trash," he added.

The horses in the barn, Sprowl said, were all "very skinny" and one had a parasite issue on its back. When Sprowl went to investigate the condition of two llamas, he found one dead. He said Colburn told him the animal was alive that morning.

"Animals are literally dying between the rescue on March 23 and the execution of the search warrant on March 24," said County Attorney Thomas Velardi.

"It was just squalor they were living in. They had to be removed," Sprowl said.

Deme Erickson, the owner of TNT Equine, has known Colburn for 20 years and said his farm was never in this condition before.

"He did care for them in the past and this was a gross departure from that," she said. "There had been some rumors things were deteriorating for two to three years."

When Colburn took the stand, he denied neglecting the animals, saying he fed and provided water to them twice a day. He said he spent $100 weekly at Blue Seal on dog food, horse grain and whole corn, and still has "probably 100 bales of hay" in his garage. When asked if he would consider the animals to be too thin, he said, "I don't think so." He said the horse the firefighters were unable to move "must've weighed a good 1,200 pounds."

The mud issue he blamed on heavy rains, saying it gets like that every year because the water runs down the hill and collects at the horse barn.

Erickson said the pigs on the property were healthy and wondered if they were consuming the carcasses of dead animals. Colburn said that was untrue and that he fed them pig/sow pellets, table scraps, whole corn and leftover vegetables. He said the only reason the dead animals were strewn about was because he could not bury them in the frozen ground.

"I can't dig through two feet of snow and frozen ground," he said.

Velardi suggested that Colburn's life had spiraled out of control due to depression and alcohol abuse. Colburn has been seeing a psychiatrist since losing his animals.

"I guess I must have had it (depression)," Colburn said, adding he has enjoyed seeing a counselor. "It's helped me immensely."

Judge Susan Ashley deliberated for about 20 minutes before returning guilty verdicts on all 11 counts of animal cruelty. She sentenced him to three consecutive suspended 12-month jail sentences. During that period of time, he is not allowed to own or take care of animals. She said she did not want to bar him from owning animals for the rest of his life since these charges are only misdemeanors.

"This is not because he meant to harm any of those animals but his amazing carelessness put them at risk," Velardi said. "Whatever occurred, it turned this farm into a killing ground."

Colburn also must continue with counseling and must pay $8,995.16 to Cocheco Valley Humane Society and $23,295.25 to the SPCA.

He still has pending in Strafford County Superior Court a motion seeking the return of his animals because he questions the validity of the voluntary release forms he signed when the SPCA seized them. That is scheduled for a hearing on July 13 but may be rendered moot by the court's verdict Tuesday.

Source: fosters.com - Jun 23, 2010
Update posted on Nov 28, 2010 - 9:45AM

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Numerous horses, dogs and birds seizedMiddleton, NH (US)

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Numerous horses, dogs and birds seized
Middleton, NH (US)