Ray Akins and his family lost more than a driveway on the riverbank during floods last week. Horses and dogs that lived at his son-in-law's farm are also gone.
"I'm not allowed to go near them and neither is my son-in-law and I think that's wrong," he said. "Just flat wrong."
On March 31, the county seized the family's 11 horses and three dogs from the property. Animal control workers said then the animals were about to drown.
"Belly deep standing in water, eating hay in the water running on their sides," said Loretta Boyett with Tattnall Co. Animal Control.
But Akins argues the water levels dropped before the animals were in harm's way. Aiken admits some areas were under water. That's why he took them to the high ground he says didn't get flooded.
But animal control now says several horses suffer a hoof rot called thrush that happened from standing in water for an extended period of time.
Akins and his son-in-law now face animal cruelty charges. He says the county overreacted. "They come in here cause somebody took somebody else's word for it and there's no way to fight it," he said.
He says the family will fight to get their animals back.
Both men face two charges of animal cruelty. Case UpdatesRay Akins says the horses were left in the hot sun and underfed by county workers, who claimed he wasn't caring for them properly.
Walking around his family's horses, Akins isn't as happy to see them as he is mad. "The animals are in pitiful shape now compared to when they left here, and it seems a shame they can do this and get away with it," he said.
WTOC was there in late March when Tattnall County Animal Control removed the horses, claiming they were endangered by a rising river next door. While they face animal neglect and abandonment charges, Akins and his family got their horses back Friday.
"That pony over there, do you see all the cuts and scrapes on her?" he showed us. "She wasn't that way when they left here."
He says the growths on one horse's nose are from sand mites and too much exposure to the sun in county custody. He says the last three months have been one legal fight after another, with arrest warrants and court appearances.
Akins says this may have started with the best of intentions for the animals' well being. But when he fought back, the county tried to save face.
Animal Control has a different story. They say the past six weeks, the animals were in the care of a private farrier that Akins' family chose.
"He had access and could feed them any time he wanted to, care for them, get them medical attention," said Animal Control's Loretta Boyette.
Akins will face a jury trial in September and both sides promise more accusations will fly then.
Akins says they were charged $80 a day for the care of the horses. He says he and his son-in-law will sue the county for the fees and the horses' conditions. | Source: WTOC - July 6, 2005
Update posted on Jul 6, 2005 - 5:13PM |
References | WTOC - April 5, 2005 |
« Back to Search Results Note: Classifications and other fields should not be used to determine what specific charges the suspect is facing or was convicted of - they are for research and statistical purposes only. The case report and subsequent updates outline the specific charges. Charges referenced in the original case report may be modified throughout the course of the investigation or trial, so case updates, when available, should always be considered the most accurate reflection of charges. For more information regarding classifications and usage of this database, please visit the database notes and disclaimer.
|
