Ohio: Social media post involving Amish-owned horse causes outrage

OHIO -- A Facebook post involving a horse caused outrage across social media.

The post showed a horse that was locked in a stanchion for weeks along a state highway in Noble County.

 

Viewers have told 7News that after multiple trips to the area by the Sheriff, the Amish owners have moved the horse across the street into a round pen.

Residents of the area believe the horse was put into the stanchion next to the highway as a way for the owners to desensitize it.

So I guess if your kid is afraid of heights, you'd dangle him from the roof for "several days"??? If your child is afraid of spiders, you'd lock him in box with a bunch of tarantulas for "several days"??

The horse reportedly was used to pull an Amish buggy and was run off of the road, making the horse afraid of traffic.

(Your Ohio Valley - May 12, 2017)

Pennsylvania: Animal cruelty charges against Crystal Davis and her son dropped after Affiant loses her police credentials

PENNSYLVANIA -- Animal cruelty charges against a local horse rescue have now been dropped following the revocation of authority for the humane society police officer who filed the charges.

Crystal Davis and her son, Joseph McMillen, both of Pequea, were initially charged with 12 summary citations of animal cruelty after 10 horses were seized May 2 from A Life Saved is a Life Saved Equine Rescue at 35 Silver Mine Road.

Davis and McMillen were responsible for the care of the animals, according to previous media reports.

Susan Martin, then a humane society police officer, found the horses dirty and emaciated without hay, water or proper shelter, according to previous media reports.

Martin then filed the citations, charging Davis and McMillen.

In June, Davis' attorney, Justin Gearty, stated his client planned to plead not guilty and would “aggressively defend the claims of animal cruelty.”

 

The horses were returned to Davis and McMillen on July 29.

The charges were withdrawn on Wednesday, according to court dockets.

Martin, the executive director of the Lancaster County SPCA, relinquished her role as a humane society police officer on Aug. 17, six days after district attorney Craig Stedman held a press conference announcing he was filing a petition to suspend her powers as an officer.

A humane society police officer is an officer of the law, who must be employed by a nonprofit agency and appointed by a judge. They have powers of arrest as it pertains to animal cruelty laws.

Martin's ability to act in that capacity was called into question following her ill-advised decision to not pursue animal cruelty charges against the owner of a puppy known as Libre, a Boston Terrier suffering from demodectic mange, who was rescued July 4 in Quarryville from the breeder.

 

 

Note: Benjamin Stoltzfus was eventually charged with animal cruelty by the District Attorney's Office.

In Davis' case, Martin declined comment Friday.

The district attorney's office limited its comments to one statement, provided via email:

“Ms. Martin was an integral part of this case, being the affiant who filed charges and did the investigation. Considering her no longer having authority as an officer, we couldn’t progress with the case as it was. We did our own evaluation of the evidence and facts involved prior to the charges being withdrawn.”

So were the charges dropped because she no longer had law enforcement powers or because she was wrong in having seized the animals and charged the owners with cruelty in the first place?

The district attorney's office declined to further elaborate on the results of its own investigation.

(Lancaster Online - Sept 9, 2016)

Earlier:

• Pennsylvania: 'Skinny' horses seized from animal rescue group

Related:

• Pennsylvania: After animal control failed Libre, Lancaster DA cites Amish puppy mill breeder Benjamin Stoltzfus, 33, for alleged neglect of emaciated, mange-ravaged Boston Terrier puppy
• Pennsylvania: Susan Martin says she would ‘gladly relinquish’ her animal control officer license

Pennsylvania: Susan Martin says she would ‘gladly relinquish’ her animal control officer license

PENNSYLVANIA -- A day after the Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman filed a petition to suspend her appointment as a human society police officer, Susan Martin said she would "gladly relinquish that license without any civil action."

 

But Martin, who is also head of the Lancaster County SPCA, stopped short of giving up her appointment now, saying she may let the civil process play out so the truth can be told about exactly what happened.

In a statement she released Friday morning, Martin said she consulted with the district attorney’s office before deciding not to file charges in the case of a puppy named Libre, a decision Stedman cited when announcing his petition.

“As animal control officer, I have consulted with the district attorney’s office about the decision of whether or not to bring charges in every case of animal abuse or neglect. Libre’s case is no exception,” Martin said in the statement.

Martin said her decision not to bring charges against Libre’s owner was based on numerous consultations with the district attorney’s office, including phone calls, text messages and email exchanges.

“Simply put, the District Attorney's office indicated an unwillingness to prosecute this case absent the availability of a reliable witness,” Martin said in her statement.

Martin declined to share the content of her communications with the district attorney’s office.

Brett Hambright, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office, disputed Martin’s version of events, saying state police found that Martin misrepresented the facts of the Libre case when she told the district attorney she wouldn’t be filing charges.

“She never asked to file charges, or for approval to do so,” he said.

Martin says now that she consulted with the DA's office and they refused to file charges. However, in an earlier article Martin stated that no charges would be filed 'because it is impossible to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt that the individual willingly and knowingly grossly neglected care for the animal intending to cause foreseeable grave injury or harm.”'

“I found no evidence this farmer had been neglecting this dog,” Martin said.

Are you kidding me? All you have to do is look at this puppy and see that he was intentionally neglected and abandoned in pen to die!

Also, Martin’s investigation of the Libre case was only a small piece of the substandard conduct referred to in the petition to suspend her license, Hambright said, noting that detailed facts would be presented at an upcoming hearing.

INITIAL INVESTIGATION
In an earlier article, Martin said she received a text message about the puppy’s condition on Saturday, July 2nd. She did not visit the farm in question for several days, she said, because she was home with the flu.

However, she said, she forwarded a photo of the puppy, taken by SPCA volunteer Dextin Orme, to staff veterinarian Kelly Bergman, who determined the puppy was “not in imminent danger.”

“Unless the dog were in imminent danger, no officer could seize the dog without a warrant,” Martin said. She did not believe the photo, she added, was sufficient cause for a warrant.

HOW CAN YOU SEE THIS PUPPY AND SAY THERE IS NO PROBABLE CAUSE FOR A SEARCH WARRANT TO SEIZE IT??? BY HER OWN ADMISSION, SHE SAID NO ONE DID ANYTHING ABOUT THIS DYING PUPPY "FOR SEVERAL DAYS". 

During the Thursday morning press conference, Stedman announced that state police had filed a cruelty charge against the breeder of Libre (an Amish man named Benjamin Stoltzfus, 33), the puppy who was rescued from a Quarryville farm in July.

Stedman said then he was looking for “increased professionalization” in how animal cruelty charges are handled and that enforcement will not be handled by Lancaster County SPCA personnel for the time being.

Instead Lancaster County Detective Joanne Resh will serve as the lead contact, Stedman said.

Hambright said Friday that the district attorney’s office had already taken steps for countywide training of all police officers who will be involved in animal cruelty investigations.

 

“Also, District Attorney Stedman has personally contacted a state legislator about advancing legislative change in animal cruelty laws,” Hambright said.

Martin said Friday she was happy to see such involvement at the county level.

“I welcome the district attorney's willingness to finally take on the important role of enforcing animal cruelty laws as a vital function of county government. This will allow more time for me to focus on the SPCA's mission of caring for animals in need,” she said.

Libre is slowly recovering and hopefully will have
a wonderful life no thanks to Susan Martin

“The pictures speak for themselves,” Janine Guido of Speranzo Animal Rescue said. “Susan Martin is supposed to be a voice for these animals. She is not.”

(LancasterOnline - Aug 12, 2016)

Earlier:

• Pennsylvania: After animal control failed Libre, Lancaster DA cites Amish breeder Benjamin Stoltzfus, 33, for alleged neglect of emaciated, mange-ravaged Boston Terrier puppy

Pennsylvania: After animal control failed Libre, Lancaster DA cites Amish puppy mill breeder Benjamin Stoltzfus, 33, for alleged neglect of emaciated, mange-ravaged Boston Terrier puppy

PENNSYLVANIA -- An Amish farmer who allegedly neglected Libre — the formerly emaciated, mange-ravaged Boston terrier — has admitted to leaving the puppy in a kennel, where he figured Libre would eventually die, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office.

Benjamin S. Stoltzfus, 33, of Conowingo Road in Quarryville, is facing a summary citation, which was the maximum allowable punishment under state law, the DA's office noted in a news release.

 

At a news conference Thursday, District Attorney Craig Stedman announced his office filed the citation because Libre suffered severe physical distress because of lack of care.

Stedman also announced his office is asking Lancaster County's president judge to suspend Susan Martin's Humane Society police officer designation, alleging she enforced animal-cruelty laws in a "substandard" fashion, according to the release. 

In addition to her Humane Society police officer duties, Martin also is executive director of the Lancaster County SPCA.

Stedman said Lancaster County will change its procedures on policing, enforcing and prosecuting animal-cruelty cases. For now, the Lancaster County SPCA will not be conducting enforcement, the release states.

'Sweeping' changes sought: Lancaster County Detective Joanne Resh will assist state and municipal police in investigating suspected animal abuse, according to the release.

Stedman described the changes as sweeping and said Pennsylvania's animal-cruelty laws have been insufficient for years — an assessment animal-rights advocates have asserted for decades.

He said he will ask state legislators to make penalties harsher for those convicted of cruelty and to increase the grading of some types of cruelty from summary to misdemeanor, according to the release.

Stedman also wants animal-cruelty officers to complete specific training and be subject to background checks, and he said his office should be involved in the selection of future animal-cruelty officers, the release states.

After being nursed back to health, Libre went home with Janine Guido, founder and owner of Speranza Animal Rescue in Mechanicsburg. She calls him her "bug-eyed miracle."

About Libre
Four-month-old Libre was saved by a delivery truck driver who saw him a number of times over a two-month period at an Amish dog-breeding facility in Lancaster County and convinced the owners to give him the dog on July 4 so he could get help for it, according to a Lancaster Online article.

The Lancaster County SPCA had declined to press charges against the breeder, spurring protests of the shelter and of Martin.

The driver delivered the pup to a former humane officer, who took it to an emergency animal hospital and contacted Speranza Animal Rescue. It was Guido who named Libre, declined to have him euthanized and instead took him to Dillsburg Veterinary Center.

Libre was emaciated and dehydrated, suffering from demodectic mange (which is not the contagious type of mange) and secondary skin infections. He initially couldn't stand up on his own and had ulcers around his eyes. A number of maggots had to be removed from his open wounds, according to Speranza.

"His eyelids were so swollen he literally could not shut his eyes," Guido said, adding a veterinary ophthalmologist has told her Libre will need surgery soon on his right eye.

A fighter
The mites that carry demodectic mange are common on dogs, but as long as dogs are healthy, they don't contract the disease, Guido said. It's generally sick or immuno-compromised dogs that develop the condition, she said.

"Most dogs would have died a week before we got him," Guido said. "I don't know what drove him to keep fighting, but I'm so glad he did. At first I thought I'd be bringing his ashes home with me."

Libre's struggle went viral on social media sites, and he gained tens of thousands of supporters from around the world who have sent donations and gifts to both him and to Dillsburg Veterinary Center, a staffer there has said.

How to help
Dillsburg Veterinary Center continues to accept donations to help offset the costs of caring for Libre. To do that, call the clinic at (717) 432-7031 or send a check to them at 8 Tristan Drive, No. 1, Dillsburg, PA 17019.

People also can donate to Speranza Animal Rescue online or through the nonprofit animal rescue's Facebook page.

Search Facebook and Twitter for #justiceforlibre and #librestrong to be part of the online conversation.

(York Dispatch - Aug 12, 2016)

Pennsylvania: No jail time for Marvin Sensenig, 20, who beat, kicked and punched his overloaded, exhausted horse on public road in front of everyone

PENNSYLVANIA -- An Ephrata man has pleaded guilty to cruelty counts after police say he beat an overburdened horse on the side of a country road, ultimately leading to the animal's death.

The man, 20-year-old Marvin Sensenig of Ephrata, pleaded guilty to two summary counts of animal cruelty in front of a borough district judge on Monday.

The charges carry more than $700 in fines and court costs, online records show. No jail time has been ordered.

The case drew widespread attention and provoked widespread outrage after a bystander posted her account of the incident to Facebook.

The post belonged to Tawn Crowther of Lancaster and has been shared tens of thousands of times since it was posted to her page last week.

According to Crowther's account, she watched as Sensenig "walked beside the horse and beat it until it fell to the [ground]," adding "At that point he continued to kick, hit and pull on the poor seemingly dying animal. I pulled over and called the police."

They came to evaluate the situation, only to tell me that they are unsure of the outcome. Because Amish are governed under a different law. Are you kidding? Isn't abuse standard across the board? So if I decide to beat and kill animals I need to change my religion to be above the law?!? Are you telling me the police are powerless against the Amish?!?

Her post includes still frames from a video that appears to show a man in Plain Sect clothing, likely Sensenig, leaning over a horse in a roadway.

According to a police account, "Sensenig used one horse to pull a farm wagon with a burden too great for a single horse. The horse became overheated due to the hot temperatures and collapsed onto the asphalt."

It continues: "Sensenig then was seen kicking the horse in the abdomen and the back of the head, and punching the horse in the head."

The incident was reported at Bethany Road near Brossman Road in the borough around noon on Tuesday, Aug. 2.

Officers arriving at the scene said they found the horse lying in the roadway and a bystander claiming the horse's handler, later identified as Sensenig, had beaten the animal after it failed to pull a load of watermelons and two grown men up the road.

Fire officials sprayed the animal with water in an attempt to keep it cool, but the decision was ultimately made to euthanize the horse. Court documents say the animal died "as a result of the conditions created by [Sensenig]."

With Sensenig's guilty plea entered there is no further action scheduled in the case. It is not clear if his guilty plea will impact his ability to own animals in the future.

Police issued a statement denying
that the officer said Amish don't
have to abide by the law. So
they're calling the witness a liar.

In Pennsylvania, a summary offense carries a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $300 fine, while an animal cruelty summary count carries up to 90 days in jail and a fine of up to $750, the SPCA reports.

The Lancaster County District Attorney's Office gave the following response EXCUSE when asked why no jail time was sought for Sensenig, saying the decision was left to the discretion of a local judge instead.

"There is nothing inappropriate about the disposition in this case. The legislature has determined these crimes are among the lowest graded offenses - summary citations. Summaries can carry maximum 90-day prison sentences, but prison is rarely ordered, particularly when dealing with first-time offenders who take immediate responsibility. We did not request prison; rather, left it at the discretion of the judge."

Shame on you Lancaster County.

(PennLive - August 11, 2016)

Earlier:

• Pennsylvania: Police investigating after woman sees Amish man beating exhausted horse
• Pennsylvania: Amish man Marvin Sensenig, 20, charged with animal cruelty after beating horse on road

Pennsylvania: Amish man Marvin Sensenig, 20, charged with animal cruelty after beating horse on road

PENNSYLVANIA -- An Amish man was charged with animal cruelty after beating a horse that collapsed due to exhaustion on the side of a Lancaster County road.

Marvin M. Sensenig, 20, of Ephrata, was charged Friday with two counts of cruelty to animals, police announced.

The incident occurred Tuesday at about noon near the intersection of Bethany and Brossman Roads in Ephrata, according to police at a press conference.

Officers arrived at the scene and discovered the fallen horse partially blocking the roadway. Once the roadway was cleared, officers tended to the horse.

The Akron Fire Department later responded and sprayed the horse with water to keep the horse cool. However, the horse was ultimately euthanized.

A witness told police that the horse was mistreated. After further investigation, police allege that Sensenig "unreasonably struck a horse that was overburdened with a heavy load."

In a Facebook post, Tawn Crowther claimed to have witnessed the incident. She said the horse was unable to pull a wagon loaded with watermelon and two men.

Crowther's post has been more than 38,000 times as of Friday evening.

The Lancaster County District Attorney's Office has also reviewed the case.

 

(Philly Voice - Aug 5, 2016)

Earlier:

• Pennsylvania: Police investigating after woman sees Amish man beating exhausted horse

Pennsylvania: Police investigating after woman sees Amish man, Marvin Sensenig, beating exhausted horse

PENNSYLVANIA -- Police in Lancaster County are investigating an animal cruelty report involving a horse.

Ephrata police said they received an animal cruelty complaint on Tuesday involving a horse that was pulling a wagon along a roadway.

"The report was made in a timely manner and the investigation began at that time. Officers conducted interviews and follow up interviews – and will conduct more," police said in their news release.

In photos supplied by police, a man is seen standing over the horse as the horse laid on the ground.

Police issued a statement denying that the
officer said Amish don't have to abide
by the law.

"As a criminal justice agency, it is imperative that we sort out fact from fiction, and truth from hyperbole before taking action against a citizen," police said. "We must collect evidence and information."

According to a police account, "Sensenig used one horse to pull a farm wagon with a burden too great for a single horse. The horse became overheated due to the hot temperatures and collapsed onto the asphalt." 

It continues: "Sensenig then was seen kicking the horse in the abdomen and the back of the head, and punching the horse in the head."

Police said they are working to collect more evidence and information, and investigations can take some time.

Note: A newer article said that the fire department responded and sprayed 'over 1,000 gallons of water on the horse to cool it down'. The horse was ultimately euthanized they say (shot?).  They say they were out there on the side of the road for three hours. Was a veterinarian ever called to the scene?

 

Investigators ask anyone who may have seen what occurred to contact police or "submit a tip" through their webpage.

No charges have been filed as of Wednesday morning in the case. Additional details about the incident were not released by police.

From Facebook:
Today my friend Mimi and I watched as an Amish criminal beat a horse to the point it collapsed. The horse was unable to pull a wagon full of watermelon and 2 grown men. So the Amish man walked beside the horse and beat it until it fell to the grown. At that point he continued to kick, hit and pull on the poor seemingly dying animal. I pulled over and called the police. They came to evaluate the situation, only to tell me that they are unsure of the outcome. Because Amish are governed under a different law. Are you kidding? Isn't abuse standard across the board? So if I decide to beat and kill animals I need to change my religion to be above the law?!? Are you telling me the police are powerless against the Amish?!?

Just an update, the police officer has reached out to me and is trying to help!

(Local21 - Aug 3, 2016)

Ohio: 'Severely neglected' pony rescued in Lorain County; owner didn't care because she was going to sell to the Amish to haul to Canada for slaughter

OHIO -- She was lying in feces, surrounded by trash, more than 100 pounds underweight, and her hooves were painfully overgrown and bleeding.

That's how Friendship Animal Protective League humane officers found a 10-year-old pony on a Penfield Township farm in Lorain County.

The agency removed the animal from the farm, and charges may be filed against the owner, Friendship APL Director Greg Willey said.

Agency representatives named the pony Cinderella for her slippered hooves. Her hooves had overgrown and curled up. The pony was walking on her ankles, which is extremely painful, Willey said.

"That's a sign of absolute neglect," Willey said. "The hooves were filled with blood and abscesses that were rotting. I have never seen a case that bad."

Veterinarians had to file the hooves completely down, which was also painful, Willey said. Cinderella is on pain medication, and her hooves will take about six months to grow back, Willey said.

Someone who went to the Pennfield Township farm to rent a stall reported the abuse. Friendship APL seized the pony and a rabbit last Thursday.

The pony was nearly 100 pounds underweight, and her ribs and spine were clearly visible through her coat, Willey said.

The woman told humane officers she was trying to find an Amish man to take the horse to Canada to sell it for meat.

(Cleveland Plain Dealer - June 16, 2016)