Apr 23, 2013 6 min read

WAYNESBURG – An Aleppo Township woman was found guilty Monday of animal cruelty by Greene County Magisterial District Judge Louis Dayich.

The charge was filed March 7 against Sandra Ann Crupe, 58, of Aleppo Road, New Freeport, for failing to provide adequate care for four horses on her property. The complaint said Crupe was exhibiting cruelty to the horses by “depriving them of adequate and regular sustenance and depriving them of veterinary care.”

Greene County Humane Society enforcement officer Jane Gapen told Dayich her office began receiving calls about the Crupe’s horses in February. The Aleppo Township supervisors also were receiving calls, Gapen said.

“I got calls through March saying they were not getting fed regularly, and a lot of the callers said they were feeding the horses,” Gapen said. “I think the horses need vet care.” She said she felt the horses were on the edge with their weight and if neighbors hadn’t been helping, they would have looked a lot thinner.

She said the humane society staff went to the residence to check on the horses over a two-week period in February and there was never adequate hay or water. She added she could not see a water source nearby when she visited the property.

Gapen said the horses were living in “filth” and “muck.”

“They are standing in manure up over their hooves,” she said. When Crupe allowed Gapen to take two dogs from the residence, she initially agreed to let her take the horses as well but changed her mind the following week, Gapen said. “I kept calling and asking if she would surrender them to us, but she said, ‘no,'” Gapen said. “I think they have some difficulties.”

Crupe said she feeds and waters her horses daily. “I carried the water, and I put it in that tub. Any horse can run out of water,” Crupe said. “There is a stream that runs all the time. I go out at 6 a.m. every morning.”

Crupe said she and her husband, Bob, were out of town for one week in February because of the death of their son, Michael, not two. She said her brother-in-law took care of feeding the horses while they were away.

Crupe said she didn’t have anything to hide and wondered why Gapen didn’t knock on her door if she visited as many times as she said she had. Gapen said messages were left on the door with no response and that Crupe had threatened her to stay off her property.

Gapen presented three witnesses – Rosalind Laur of Palmer Road; David Logan, Aleppo Township supervisor; and state transportation worker Colleen Martin, who does work in the area every couple of weeks.

Laur said she travels by the Crupe’s property frequently. “I understand why you love those horses and don’t want to give them up. When my husband died, I could not take care of myself, let alone another, so I sold our dairy cattle to someone who could take care of them.”

Laur told Dayich there were times during the winter when she drove past and there was nothing for the horses to eat. She said she witnessed them digging in the manure for scraps of hay and sometimes eating the manure. “They are sick and sad, and it breaks your heart,” she said.

Logan said residents in the area called the township asking if there were any ordinances to help the horses. “Their muzzles are black from digging in the manure trying to get something to eat,” Logan said.

Martin told the court she had owned horses and bred them for several years. She said she called the humane society after witnessing one of the horses lying down.

“It tried two or three times to get up, but it couldn’t get its rear legs under it. It finally stood, but it went back down,” she said. “When I went by again, it was back on its side. It breaks my heart.”

Martin said each horse needs a bale of hay each day at minimum with a lack of pasture grass.

“Standing in the manure keeps their feet wet all of the time. They can have thrush or laminitis (foot disease) from it,” Martin said. She noted their distended stomachs may indicate worms and told Dayich horses should be wormed regularly and their feet and teeth examined.

Crupe questioned if Martin was a veterinarian. She said their vet, Dr. Vicky Soles of Springhill Animal Clinic in New Freeport, could not make a house call until May. Crupe said Soles previously told them the horses were fine and only needed Tetanus shots.

Dayich asked the Crupes about their financial circumstances to determine if they had the resources to take care of the horses. They said they have no tractor but do have a truck. They buy their hay from local people who deliver it to them, according to Crupe.

Bob Crupe said the horses do not have to stand in the manure if they don’t want to, indicating they had an area to roam outside of it. Dayich said he realized the Crupes felt they were doing OK by the horses but to the rest of the people looking at them, there is a problem.

Both Crupe and her husband said they did not ask the neighbors and others to feed their horses. “I better not catch nobody feeding the horses. I don’t approve of that,” Bob Crupe said. “Why should I give up an animal? I will sell them or take them to auction. I knew this was going to be a farce anyways. Other people are always trying to take my property.”

Dayich told the Crupes he thinks they love the horses but he felt they were not capable of providing everything they need, based on testimony provided. Dayich said he would find Sandra Crupe guilty but drop the fines, totaling $447, if she would relinquish the horses. She again said, “no.”

“The only way I would hand them over to a good home is if I was unable to take care of them and give them feed or hay,” said Sandra Crupe. “At the present time, do I look like I can’t do anything?”

Dayich ordered the horses confiscated by Greene County Humane Society in 30 days but noted Crupe had the right to appeal within that time and let a higher court judge decide the matter. Crupe said she would appeal.