Juanita Bolthouse, 48, of Henry Holod Road, Factoryville, who owns a mare known as Sky as well as a nursing foal belonging to Sky, had both animals taken away by Sandy Scalia, an animal control officer for the Endless Mountains Animal League.
Scalia said Monday night that animal cruelty charges were pending that would likely be filed before the end of September.
Scalia noted in an affidavit of probable cause that she had seen the mare Sky and other horses beginning in February after an anonymous call came in suggesting the horses had no shelter during the freezing cold and furthermore there was a dead horse behind a pickup truck.
However, she told Mrs. Bolthouse that she had not been sworn in as an animal control officer and was merely responding as a volunteer because she had received a complaint.
Scalia was sworn in by Wyoming County President Judge Russell Shurtleff on April 2 as a humane society police officer, and in June she returned to the Bolthouse farm, where she noted the mare Sky had ribs and hip bones that were very prominent and the foal also was very thin.
On July 10, according to the affidavit, Scalia drew up a compliance agreement and spoke to Mrs. Bolthouse in Tunkhannock where she signed the document that acknowledged she had 45 days to provide legal shelter for her horses.
Officer Scalia, along with humane officer Debra Lamoreaux from Luzerne County visited the Bolthouse residence Sept. 5 when they discovered the veterinarian’s office only had brought in two horses for health certificates.
A week later, officer Scalia and the veterinarian’s assistant, Dr. Amy Santonastaso met and Scalia was told that a request to have the mare’s teeth “floated” had not been fulfilled because there was no found power source and she didn’t want to leave a sedated animal in a pen with others and no one to watch her.
Dr. Santonastaso also noted the mare’s weight had declined from 725 to 640 pounds in less than 10 weeks, and acknowledged that a foal should not have the rough coat that Sky’s foal had.
The five-month-old foal is the size of a two week old.
Scalia said Monday that the two horses were in temporary shelter at an undisclosed location but were getting the proper attention they deserved.
She noted, however, that feed and medical bills were mounting, and while the Endless Mountains Animal League was helping with some bills, it was clear that costs would continue to mount.
If anyone would like to make a donation they could do so by sending a check to the Endless Mountains Animal League, P.O. Box 306, Factoryville, PA 18419, or by calling 945-3391.
(WCExaminer - Sept 19, 2012)
