MIDDLETOWN – A preliminary hearing was set for July 19 for Teresa Sanders, a Middletown woman accused of animal neglect involving around 80 Arabian horses.
Prosecuting Deputy District Attorney John Langan said Monday that he expects the prelim to take less time than originally expected because an investigator is now available to testify on behalf of the veterinarians who examined the horses.
Langan said Sanders faces a felony count of animal neglect and a misdemeanor count for lack of nourishment, care and shelter for the horses.
Veterinarians and Animal Care and Control officers described the horses as malnourished, starving and in general need of care before they were removed from Sanders” Middletown property by May 2006.
Pictures of the herd taken by Animal Care and Control show horses with protruding ribs, including foals, and some swaybacked from malnutrition. Animal Care and Control officer Morgan Herman (formerly Nelsen) said she observed mud and excrement matted on the horses” bellies.
Two veterinarians reported not enough food, care or shelter for the horses on Sanders” property, where one veterinarian said even grazing was out of the question.
According to Animal Care and Control Director Denise Johnson, Sanders placed all of the horses outside of Lake County last year.
Sanders” preliminary hearing is scheduled tentatively for Dept. 4 of the Lake County courthouse, in the South Civic Center in Clearlake.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
