Charles and Lori Fisher of 900 Lockport Road, Lewistown, and Patty Sherwood of 100 Tigger Lane, McClure, were each cited in connection with an incident July 27 outside a New Holland auction house.
According to citations provided by District Judge Rodney Hartman’s office, the defendants were involved with transporting or arranging transport to New Holland of three Arabian-type horses — a roan-colored, a dark bay-colored and a chestnut-colored mare — in “an inhumane manner.”
Because of the “severely dilapidated condition” of the horses, none of them were able to sustain their own weight during transport, the citations say. All three horses were described in the documents as emaciated and lethargic.
The roan horse sustained nerve damage to its leg when it fell, and the bay suffered “further stress and deterioration,” the citations say. Both had to be euthanized.
The 17-year-old chestnut mare survived.
Additional charges of animal cruelty include:
• Depriving the horses of necessary sustenance and veterinary care.
The defendants, the citations say, buy and sell horses frequently and “should have had sufficient understanding” of their medical needs.
• Selling or arranging to sell the animals.
Because of their poor condition, the citations state, the horses “could not be worked or used without violating the laws against cruelty to animals.”
Assistant District Attorney Christine Wilson will prosecute the case against the Fishers and Sherwood, according to the citations.
Each defendant is charged with nine separate instances of animal cruelty in connection with the incident. The DA’s office is asking that each defendant be ordered to pay restitution totaling $4,500 for the horses’ care.
Susan Martin, director of the Lancaster County SPCA, said the animal shelter got involved after receiving a tip about the transaction.
Martin said the horses were allegedly being sold on a Sunday evening in the parking lot at New Holland Sales Stables, 101 W. Fulton St.
The defendants apparently were hoping to sell the horses to a Florida-based horse rescue group, Martin said; she noted that the transaction took place during off-hours at the auction house.
“The auction had nothing to do with this,” Martin said. “They just met in their parking lot.”
The SPCA took immediate custody of the horses, she said, and Brandywine Valley Veterinary Hospital in Coatesville stabilized them and provided critical care treatment for the surviving mare for three weeks.
“Out of the three, only one survived. That’s pretty bad,” Martin said. “The other two were put down right away, the next day.”
According to information provided by the SPCA, the surviving horse was taken on Aug. 13 to Days End Farm Horse Rescue in Woodbine, Maryland.
“She had to go somewhere she could get round-the-clock care,” Martin said.
A release from DEFHR said the horse had a body condition score of 1 (on a scale of 1 to 9, with 1 being extremely emaciated), as well as severe parasite infestation and rain rot.
She has been named Anastasia’s Ally and is recovering.
“She will need extensive critical care for up to 90 days,” the statement, from DEFHR development director Caroline Robertson, said. “Her rehabilitative care will take several months before she will be ready to be evaluated for adoption.”
Martin said the SPCA, which is most often associated with dogs and cats, does get a significant number of calls about other animals, from baby alligators to draft horses.
They’ve handled about a dozen horse-cruelty cases in the past month and a half, Martin said — this was by far the worst she’s seen, and is the only case where any horses had to be euthanized.
Lancaster County SPCA is planning a benefit trail ride Oct. 25 in Lancaster County Central Park to help offset the mare’s rehabilitative costs. Details on the event will be posted online at lancasterspca.org.
(Lancaster Online - Sept 8, 2014)
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