Samuel Calvin Reuben (aka Sam Reuben), 78, of the 6800 block of Addie Gant Lane, was charged with two counts each of unlawful confinement or abandonment of animals and tormenting or depriving animals, according to court records. His arraignment is set for Thursday.
Diane Lowery, president of Panhandle Equine Rescue Inc. and an equine cruelty investigator, said that her first encounter with Reuben was in 2005, when 18 horses were discovered on his property in poor living conditions. The barn area was wet and muddy, and some horses were standing in several feet of manure, Lowery said.
“The conditions deteriorated to the point where he had to remove all the horses from the property,” Lowery said. “He did comply in the beginning, and he dispersed the horses to different properties and friends’ homes around Escambia County.”
Several cows and goats also had to be removed from the property. Once the area dried out and conditions improved, Lowery said that Reuben brought several horses back to the property, only to have conditions deteriorate again.
Reuben also kept some horses at a separate property on Godwin Lane, and after receiving frequent calls reporting that Reuben’s horses were not being properly taken care of, Lowery informed Animal Control.
Investigators from PER, Animal Control and the Sheriff’s Office discovered the malnourished horses living in muddy, manure-filled stalls and seized them on Aug. 10.
“I was really shocked to see the conditions, especially as far as their body weight,” Lowery said. “He always fed his stallions very well, and they were horrible. The horses needed to be removed.”
Lowery said that even with some horses she believed to be close to dying, she didn’t think Reuben saw the gravity of the situation.
“Mr. Rueben didn’t seem to think there was a problem,” Lowery said. “He thought his horses were fine, which was scary.”
Reuben could not be reached for comment on Sunday.
The horses are currently being held at an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office livestock holding facility, Lowery said.
After the custody hearing, the county will have the option to keep the horses for auction or turn them over to PER to help find homes for them. Lowery said she hopes the horses will not go to auction, because they could end up in the same situation, or worse.
“I’m really concerned for these seven horses, because they’re in the system,” Lowery said. “I kind of have to wait and see what’s going to happen with these. I’m hoping and praying that we’ll be called by the county to help place these horses.”
Panhandle Equine Rescue was founded in February 2005 with a mission to rescue, rehabilitate and provide adoption services for abused, neglected and abandoned equines.
Lowery said PER would work more cases if there were more available resources, such as foster homes.
“Like most of the rescues in the country, we’re full to capacity and donations are way down,” Lowery said. “We don’t want to take in more than we can take care of. If the community knew how badly we need foster homes and donations to prevent this from happening, then maybe they would help more.”
(PNJ - Sept 2, 2012)
