Animal Control officers also took five live horses from the farm located about three miles south of the town of Ellettsville.
Deputies say those horses were under stress. A neighbor who lives across the street was surprised to see the horses carted away.
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| Ruth Ann Chasse |
“Because I've been here since 1970, I've seen three owners. They all had livestock and took care of their livestock. But nobody took care of their livestock like these people do. They've been fantastic,” said Owen.
The property owner talked to 24-Hour News 8 Friday afternoon about her horses, but she didn't want to be interviewed on camera.
She says she watched as Animal Control officers took five of her 34 horses. She knew two of the horses needed to put on weight and says she was trying to help the animals do that.
When asked about the two horse skulls found on her property, she said one skull was from a foal that had been miscarried.
The other skull came from an elderly horse that she thinks may have been attacked by coyotes.
The owner says she never neglected her animals. Her neighbor believes her.
“We were totally shocked. I can't understand it. It's like somebody has some sort of vendetta against her,” said Owen.
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| Mr. Owne complains to the news that the horses were removed by authorities due to a 'vendetta' |
[Mr. Owen also complained that there were more officers on-scene than would show up at a bank robbery. Um, hello. If she has acreage and 34 horses which need to be rounded up and inspected, it will take a lot of people in order to accomplish this in the time they have to serve the warrant.
He may soon wish he'd kept his mouth shut, especially when more details about the horses are released. Wonder if he'll be embarassed like Norman Lindsay, a friend and neighbor of Janice Deutsch, whose horses were seized back in 2011? Mr. Lindsay disrupted the rescue and argued with Animal Control, screaming, "This isn't a horse rescue, it's a horse rip-off!" Basically made a fool of himself, especially after more charges were filed against his friend/neighbor when they discovered she'd been abusing her own mother.
"Animal-cruelty suspect charged with elder abuse" - The Orange County Sheriff’s Department began investigating Deutsch after she brought her 86-year-old mother, covered in urine and feces, to a hospital in Mission Viejo on Sept. 30, court documents stated. Deutsch’s mother had bleeding bedsores and her legs were locked in a bent position, according to an investigator’s written statement in support of an arrest warrant filed in Riverside County court. She also was dehydrated, sunburned and had feces under her fingernails, court records stated.
Even more animals had to be removed from Deutsch's property - "More animal neglect at troubled property, authorities say"]
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| Norman Lindsay, a friend of Janice Deutsch, argues with John Welsh, right, a spokesman for the county animal services department, during a seizure in which more than 14 horses were removed from Deutsch's La property. |
Indiana law requires animal owners to properly dispose of a carcass.
The property owner says she was not aware of the law and had she known about it she would have buried the bones.
Friday night, Monroe and Owen County deputies arrested the property owner, 54-year-old Ruth A. Chasse. She has been preliminarily charged with two Class D felony counts of failure to properly dispose of a dead animal, and five Class A misdemeanor counts of cruelty to an animal.
She was taken to the Monroe County Correctional Facility.
(WISH - March 1, 2013)
