Aurora Woman Charged with Cruelty to Animals

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Investigators from the SPCA Serviing Erie County have charged the owner of a Town of Aurora horse farm with 10 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty after the agency removed 73 horses, 53 cats and four dogs from Eden Farms on Emery Road in March.

Investigators disclosed the charges Saturday and said they were tied to neglect and care of seven horses and three cats. The charges, which fall under the state Agriculture and Markets Law, were filed against Beth Hoskins, who faces arraignment on the counts May 26 in Aurora Town Court.

“They’re definitely some very serious charges. Each animal is a life,” said Jeff Eyre, northeast director of field investigations and responses for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Eyre has assisted the SPCA Serving Erie County with the sheltering, management and care of more than 70 horses.

Hoskins’ attorney on Saturday maintained his client’s innocence.

“She believes the animals were properly cared for and she’s absolutely innocent,” said her attorney, Barry Covert. He declined to comment further until he reviews the charges.

This is why I will never be an attorney. That's what you guys ALWAYS say. "She didn't know any better. She didn't mean to harm the animals." You can't accidentally starve 73 horses. It doesn't matter what she believes. It matters what actually happened. We don't let murderers off because they believed they were doing the right thing in shooting someone.

Each count could carry a $1,000 fine and/or one year in jail, said Gina Browning, public relations director for the SPCA.

Dozens of the mostly Morgan-type horses that were seized in March were recently taken to foster “horse farms” in the area. Investigators have termed it the biggest local roundup of large animals in decades. Eyre said the horses are doing well in each of their foster locations.

So far, the total cost stemming from the case and care of the animals has exceeded $110,000, Browning said. “It’s the largest animal case we’ve been involved in and also with the most extreme level of community support.”

“Nobody ever forgot about this,” she said. “This is an expensive case, and the community has backed us up.”

Investigators selected the animals that were in the “worst” shape and required the most care in assessing evidence before levying the charges, Browning said.

“Some of the horses have gained a tremendous amount of weight. All of them are now able to be handled by people who know horses,” Eyre said. “That is huge from when we first started working with these guys.”

Browning said work on a civil case involving Hoskins is still ongoing.

Two Dozen Rescues Looking for Homes in Florida

Story This is the new case I'm watching. Two dozen horses rescued from a man in Florida are looking for homes. These include 21 Thoroughbreds and 2 Quarter Horses ranging in age from 7 months to 19 years.

Animal Services seized the horses from owner Lope Gonzalez, who was accused of failing to care for them properly, according to a press release.

When Animal Services removed the horses from a Morriston farm, approximately half were 400 pounds to 500 pounds underweight.

A judge allowed Gonzalez to keep 10 of the 33 horses on the property, according to the release.

The rest went to Animal Services. A criminal case against Gonzalez is pending.

I'd say they weren't taken care of properly! But WHY did they let him keep ten of the horses? They should've gotten them ALL out of there! I'd like to know if he cropped the tail on the horse who's picture is on the news story. Poor baby!

Tidbits of News and Case Updates

I expected to begin this post with 'this is the unhappiest I've ever been to be right' but that would be a long post so I'll do that Monday. Plus I need some time to do some research and double-check on some things. So...today I'll be doing some tidbits of news that aren't long enough for a full-length post and check up on my abuse/neglect cases.

Keum H. Lee - Nothing. Her court date is still 19 days away so I'm not expecting much.

Gordon Dennis Key - News on this front! Story Key was not at his Wednesday hearing where his attorney worked out an agreement with the district attorney's office. Key agreed to donate his 77 horses to the Humane Society. Which apparently is one more than expected. Not entirely sure where that extra horse came from...you'd think they'd know how many horses were there and rescued. Key has ten days to bring all documentation for the horses to the court and pay $5,000 in court costs and the costs of the animals since they were seized.

"This is not a case where a person had a willful desire to not care for an animal or was being intentionally cruel," he said. "He had no employees left. It was just one man doing the best he could for 77 horses. It was just impossible.

"He is an honorable man, and he really did care about the animals."

Lots of people that neglect their animals really do care about them. Those hoarders you see on TV with a hundred cats running around their house care about them. But they're still at fault for having that many animals and letting it get out of hand. He had no employees left? What happened to them? This kind of thing doesn't just happen overnight. If you need help caring for 77 horses, hire someone or find a neighbor kid that can't afford a horse of his/her own. Someone like me for instance. If the horses are rideable, they'd probably do it for free in exchange for a chance to ride the horses or even just be around them.

Kim Dotson - Story Investigations are proceeding and Kim Dotson faces 37 counts of animal cruelty, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by one year in jail and $5,000 in fines. Now is that each or total? Fifteen of the horses have already been adopted out and seven are still looking for new homes.

Jack Ziniuk - Nothing here. Though according to my chart, his court date was three days ago.

Ernie Paragallo - Nothing here either. Not expecting much until October.

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The Walking Horse Celebration is back and ready to crack down on those trainers that use soring as a way to get ahead. Story One question though...it says the first, second, and third place horses will be subject to pre- and post-performance inspections. So by 'pre-performance' do they mean that they're going to inspect all the horses there? Because how can you inspect the winning horse before the competition? Maybe they should do want horse racing does and inspect random horses in the field in addition to the top three.

A Colorado man threatened to kill his 24 horses in protest of zoning regulations which, according the story, have nothing to do with the horses. Story This man is sick! He should be in jail, the horses should be rescued (though I believe they have been), and he shouldn't be allowed to own an animal ever again. Though if he believes the zoning regulations would force him to leave the ranch, I'd like to know what the zoning regulations are.

And as for the Florida horse murders, the reward has been upped to $20,000 for information leading to an arrest and a new watch program unveiled.

"They come from the lowest ebb of society, they don't have any of our civilized notions. And I think everybody is aware of that," said Southwest Ranches resident Maryann Allen. "Thank God for my six gun, I'd shoot em."

Nineteen horses in southern Florida have been butchered for their meat which is sold illegally.