Saunders continues to fight allegations that surfaced this past December when Yavapai County Sheriff's Office deputies booked her into the Yavapai County Jail on 21 counts of animal cruelty, one count of interference, one count of unlawful interference with a county agent and violation of probation.
According to William Fortner, Saunders' attorney, Mayer Justice Court Judge John Kennedy dealt a devastating blow to Yavapai County Animal Control on Oct. 24 when he ruled that prosecutors had failed to prove, by even a preponderance of the evidence, allegations that Saunders committed the offense of cruel animal neglect.
Fortner expounded on his interpretation of Judge Kennedy's ruling. "In light of the uncontroverted evidence that Ms. Saunders had never cruelly neglected or abused any animal, Judge Kennedy took her off probation 11 months early. He advised her that she was free of any legal restraints on taking care of her animals as long as she complied with the Arizona statutes on the proper care of animals."
"I am still reeling in shock from the discrepancies and false information that was in Fortner's press release," commented Sgt. Deb Dean, YCSO animal control.
Fortner said in his press release that Dean testified there was no cruel animal abuse or neglect to any of the animals in Saunders' care.
"We didn't even deal with the 21 counts of animal cruelty," she said. "The only date discussed in court was our visit in November 2005 to see her animals because of a probation violation. And Saunders had clearly violated the terms of her probation."
Dean said that animal control has been dealing with Saunders since 2001 and she has violated her probation several times. "We've tried to work with her to improve the situation," she said.
Over the years, probation officers have cited Saunders with counts of animal cruelty including no food, water, shelter or vet care.
The county attorney's office offered its own version of the hearing.
"Carole Saunders has not been cleared of the charges for the December 2006 contacts and this office is still reviewing the matter," stated Sheila Polk, Yavapai County attorney. "Because Ms. Saunders was already on probation under a court order concerning previous animal neglect issues, we had hoped to handle the new conduct through the existing plea agreement and probation proceedings."
"We had a probation violation hearing on Oct. 24, 2007, wherein Judge Kennedy did in fact find her to be in violation," Polk explained. "We then asked the judge to place her on supervised probation, order counseling, limit the number of animals she can lawfully possess and set her up on periodic checks by adult probation department and animal control unit. Instead, Judge Kennedy terminated her probation and ordered her to pay a fine of $1,000.
"In light of that proceeding, we are now reviewing the December charges and will make a decision how to proceed shortly," Polk added.
Saunders volunteered her side of the story. She stated that she had showed horses while living in Scottsdale before purchasing land in Ash Fork and moving there seven years ago.
"Two weeks after I moved in, Livestock shows up saying they had a report that all of my horses were stolen," she said. "That was odd because I had all of the registration papers here. I believe it was a false report. But they would not say who it was."
According to Saunders, animal control officers began coming to her property every month because they received complaints that she was not feeding or providing water to her horses.
"They wrote reports saying there was no food, water and the horses were dying," she said. "I was in court once a month. They harassed me for seven years. I had a feed building. My horses and dogs had shelter."
According to a Yavapai County Sheriff's Office report, however, Seligman Justice Court Judge Kathy Blaylock signed an order on April 12, 2006, placing Saunders on probation for 36 months and limiting her to possession of no more than five dogs and no cats.
Then, on Dec. 4, 2006, one of Saunders' neighbors complained to YCSO about barking dogs on Saunders' property and raised allegations of animal neglect. The neighbor reported that there were 10 horses, seven dogs and an unknown number of cats on Saunders' property.
Deputies responding to the neighbor's complaint found the dogs' water bowls filled with ice. Eight of the 10 horses had no water. Saunders explained that she had not yet gone out to water or feed the animals that morning.
Deputies also found more than 10 cats in the shed. "I tried to get rid of the cats," Saunders said. "Many were feral and came wandering through."
During subsequent visits to Saunders' property, deputies continued to find that the dogs and horses did not have any water. According to reports from the deputies, the animals started drinking the water as fast as a deputy could fill their bowls.
Saunders maintains that she did not neglect her animals.
In her version of events, Saunders recounted how deputies would kick over the dogs' water bowls and then ask her how many days had the dogs gone without water.
"I finally saw Fortner," she said. "They pushed me too far and arrested me in church. The men did a weapons search on me and took my jewelry off. Where is my jewelry now? They threw me in jail on a Sunday and I was terrified my animals would be gone. I was never told of my rights, I never pleaded guilty. There was no hearing and no evidence."
"I was spending over $1,000 a month at Olson's for grain," she added. "I've got letters, bills and records and no one would look at them. I still don't know why this happened."
During January 2007, deputies contacted several feed stores in the area to check on hay purchases by Saunders. Employees at two of those stores seem to support Saunders' story.
They said that they are involved in civil suits against Saunders, seeking payment of outstanding balances she owes for grain purchases. A spokesperson for Olson's Grain in Chino Valley said that they would sell grain to Saunders only if she had cash or a valid credit card, and that the church usually purchased the hay for her.
"I believe my Constitutional rights were violated," Saunders said. "Fortner calls it a witch hunt. Who is doing this? Do they want my land? Do they want my horse? They may call me an old woman, but I'm a sharp old woman."
Saunders has filed a lawsuit in federal court against Yavapai County Sheriff's Office and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). PETA became involved in December 2006 when it sent a letter to Polk about its concern that Saunders may be an animal hoarder.
"They just think I'm an insane old woman who had to be incarcerated for her own protection," Saunders added.
(The Daily Courier - November 11, 2007)
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