Arlow Kiehl, 80, was convicted at a summary trial Thursday of animal cruelty, specifically conducting a sale of a disabled horse.
District Judge Rodney Hartman ordered Kiehl pay $1,559 in fines and restitution following the hour-long hearing.
Kiehl initially attempted to enter the horse for auction on Aug. 12, but auction officials refused, citing the horse's injury.
Kiehl then sold "Phoenix", a 10-year-old gelding, to a private buyer at the auction, according to officials.
Sabina Mattern, a Mount Joy woman who paid $400 for Phoenix, took the horse to a veterinarian, who had it euthanized.
Doctors determined that Phoenix had a chronic hoof issue that caused severe pain, according to Keith Mohler, Humane Society officer for the state SPCA.Mohler charged Kiehl and the initial owner of the horse, Wayne Gonyaw of McGraw, N.Y.
Gonyaw previously pleaded guilty and paid the maximum $750 fine, court records indicate.
Phoenix was used primarily as a work horse in New York before Gonyaw had Kiehl conduct the sale here, according to officials.
The hoof injury had been present for quite some time, Mohler said.
"It would have been extremely painful for the horse to walk or stand" he said.
Mohler credited Mattern for getting Phoenix to the vet and auction officials for refusing to sell the horse.
(Lancaster Online - Nov 7, 2013)
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