Ohio Man Charged with Animal Cruelty

Story [There is video of horses.]

A northwest Ohio man is facing an animal cruelty charge after one of his horses had to be euthanized today.

The man was keeping six horses and two foals in a pasture along Dorr Street in Swanton. Patrick Hudson will be charged with one count of animal cruelty after one of the foals was put to sleep this afternoon. The young horse was found in critical condition yesterday.

The foal was being propped up by a sling just minutes before it was euthanized this afternoon. A vet determined the foal needed extensive medical treatment to survive so the owner decided to put it to sleep.

The humane society had been monitoring the condition of the horses for months and after talking with the owner earlier this summer, things were getting better but they got an anonymous tip "things had gotten worse and even though they'd been there and he was doing the right things, things change," said a humane society spokesperson.

Clearly not very well if a foal was allowed to get into that kind of condition. He's not the only one; all the horses are underweight. If this is an improvement, I'd hate to know what they were like before.

As for the rest of the horses, the humane society says, "Our first choice is for the owner to take appropriate care of the animals but if he is unwilling or unable to do that, then we may seize the animals or ask him to surrender them."

If the animals are seized, the humane society will need help from the community. "Dogs and cats we are able to handle here at the humane society. Horses are more challenging. We have seized horses in the past. We find foster homes for them and we appreciate all the calls of support. If we do need to seize the horses, we will call people who have helped before and get them into a good place."

If convicted of animal cruelty, the owner will be facing 90 days in jail and a $750 fine.

Two of the other horses that were being kept on Dorr Street have been moved to another property to be cared for. The humane society will be watching the rest of the horses closely and if they are not cared for properly, Hudson will be facing additional charges.