Published Friday, June 21, 2002
By Larissa Theodore
Herald Staff Writer
Cyndi Sankey said "deliberate neglect" left horses, cats and dogs starving Thursday on a Hermitage man's property.
Ms. Sankey, enforcement officer for the Mercer County Humane Society, led a raid on 2729 Linwood Drive, that turned up 24 animals that she said appeared to have been ignored for weeks.
There's no telling how long the 17 adult horses, four colts, two dogs and two cats had gone without food and water because the animals' owner was nowhere to be found, Ms. Sankey said.
Ms. Sankey said the Humane Society received a call about two neglected horses on Linwood Drive. When she went to investigate she found three horses confined in two separate barns. She said their ribs were visible through their pelts, manes were matted into locks and hooves were left untrimmed.
None of the animals had water or food.
Ms. Sankey described one horse as "skin and bones" and another as having hooves like "ski slopes." A third horse stood deep in piled manure. Ms. Sankey said the horse wasn't going to be able to stand soon.
"They can't get out for grass or exercise," she said.
Ms. Sankey found about 10 more horses -- some thoroughbreds -- boarded together in a small pasture and barn across the street. Two of the mares were pregnant; none had food or water.
"They're just breeding and breeding and breeding," Ms. Sankey said. "There's one stallion breeding all these mares. One mare has a yearling and a colt, and she's pregnant. They are malnourished and I don't think that (their offspring) are going to be very healthy."
She said another of the females has a deformity or birth defect. "It's probably going to have to be put down. The bones just aren't right," she added.
She said dogs and cats on the property are also being neglected. She said one of the dogs came out of its house long enough for her to see a tumor the size of a cantaloupe hanging off its belly. She also saw a cat with what appeared to be an eye infection.
Ms. Sankey said the owner -- Joe Quarterson -- is a truck driver who is probably on the road constantly and away from home. She said it made no sense for him to have the animals if he was too busy to take care of them.
"He obviously can't take care of them," she said. "If you have one horse and you drive a truck it would be hard. So how are you going to care for 17?"
The Herald could not contact Quarterson for this story.
Ms. Sankey filed a complaint against Quarterson and said he has 72 hours to get things in order. The animals will remain at the residence for now. She said the horses need clean, dry stables and all of the animals need to be checked by a veterinarian. The Humane Society fed them Thursday and gave them fresh water.
She said another option would be to auction off the animals.
Rick Harakal, Humane Society president, said he was surprised at what had happened, adding that the owner was a nice guy who'd always liked horses.
"I've seen worse," he said. "There have been dead horses in cases where no one got there in time."
Sacred Trust Horse Rescue and Hermitage police assisted the society on the raid.