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Seven Horses Seized, One Man Charged With Animal Cruelty
September 3, 2012
An Escambia County man is facing multiple animal cruelty charges after seven horses were seized by authorities.
The horses were seized by Escambia County Animal Control and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office in Bellview last month due to poor conditions, part of an animal abuse case that dates back to 2005.
Samuel Calvin Reuben, 78, was issued a criminal summons for two counts each of unlawful confinement or abandonment of animals and tormenting or depriving animals, according to Escambia County Clerk of the Court records. He is due to make his first court appearance on Thursday.
In 2005, animals on Reuben’s property, including horses, cows and goats, had to be removed and relocated until the property dried out and dangerous debris was removed, according to Diane Lowery, president of Panhandle Equine Rescue, a Cantonment non-profit group that serves as the court system’s equine cruelty investigative arm.
“After a couple of years, the horses were brought back to the property, only to have the conditions deteriorate once again. Finally, all of the horses were seized and taken to a safe and dry location. This time, it was worse than before,” Lowery said.
“They were very thin and standing in deep manure and muck. With all the rain we had, the property was flooded once again and four mares struggled through the mud not being able to find a dry spot,” she said.
The seized horses are now in the custody of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office awaiting a decision by the court.
Pictured: Seven horses were seized by Escambia County Animal Control and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office due to poor living conditions and malnourishment. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Comments
18 Responses to “Seven Horses Seized, One Man Charged With Animal Cruelty”
In the end, it doesn’t matter how nice and a kind a person is. If you cannot take care of the animals you have, it is your responsibility to find them a new home. I have volunteered with Diane Lowery multiple times. She is truly helping these horses and because some people think of this man as a nice person, they feel he should be able to get away with what he has done. The truth is, sometimes a person’s best is not always good enough. And it is obvious these conditions were not good enough.
I know this man very well, he is one of the kindest most loving men I have ever had the honor of knowing. Very active in his church and school, helping kids that needed help. I have seen him out in the horse pen at night in the cold and rain feeding and taking care of these horses, after putting in a full day at the school or church. He LOVES these horses. So if you don’t know him don’t judge him!!
Never should have closed the slaughter houses. Thanks PETA, for another fine mess you have made.
There are two sides to every story, but the bottom line is that if a friend or neighbor had prior knowledge these animals needed more than the owner could give, then it was time THEN to help him rehome them. If he refused, that’s a common sense signal that he, too, needed help. Age shouldn’t be a factor. Ability and responsibility should. A cat or dog might be more in order for companionship at this point, if the neglect wasn’t intentional.
Instead of saying he should NEVER be allowed to have animals again, I say we take tax money and set up a fund to pay for the horses upkeep. The more he has the more he can draw and thus, he can have as many horses as he likes and not worry about his health or finances. Oh wait, that system is already taken by humans.
Google Panhandle Equine Rescue to see what the organization does. There is a donate button in case you would like to help with some of these horses. Mrs. Lowery does a good thing but this is expensive.
There are groups and people who would’ve helped this man had he just asked. There is no excuse for animal cruelty, sorry. I say never let him have another animal…he is obviously not responsible enough to care for them. Age is not an excuse, it is a fact of life.
This is pitiful, my heart breaks for these horses. If you’re not responsible enough to care for the animals, find them a better home!!
His age has nothing to do with how he treated these beautiful animals. Their condition doesn’t happen overnight, so he made the decision not to take care of them. If his health is bad or if he was unable to provide for them financially, he should have asked for help. There are plenty of us who would have gladly helped out, before they suffered for so long.
I know this horse owner and am sad to see that his health issues and age have caused him to be overwhelmed. He is a good man. My daughter and I have ridden, washed, fed and vaccinated most of these animals about 4 years ago and they are sweet horses. If any person can see it in their heart to give a home to one of them, I know you won’t be sorry!!!
I love you Samuel, and am sorry to see this happen.
Emily
I know this old man. He is a good man who got overwhelmed. I attempted to help him out several years ago…even vaccinated the horses out of my own pocket at times. He loves the horses but he just has aquired health problems. I have many photos of those horses where they were fat and sassy with large round bales in the pen. You are welcome to check out my facebook to check for yourself. So unless you know the situation first hand…don’t judge. The media has a tendency to publish the worst photos. All the horses were not like the photo of the black walking horse stallion (Royce). I DO KNOW FIRST HAND…. been there and seen um.
Why NOT prosecute him? Does age have anything to do with breaking the law?Or abusing animals?Or selling drugs?I would think the older a person gets the more mature they become.That may be a pipe dream…but unless the man was starving himself…he knew the animals needed to be taken care of….I bet he didn’t sleep in manure…..
My heart breaks for both the poor old man and the animals! So sad! All I can say is look at the poor mans age! He is 78 and probably had no family to help him out. He probably thought of those animals as the only family he has. That is why they kept bringing the animals back. I only hope at his age they don’t prosecute!
Poor animals. Why let them go back? Who at the county was that smart? It looks the person has a history of abusing animals and once caught should never be allowed ANY animal. When you own an animal you are their care giver and they depend on you to feed, water and give shelter to them. I hope the county doesn’t allow this person any more animals!!!!
You said all there really is to say about this sad story–’tomtom 48′….
This type of animal cruelty should be a felony and the person should not be allowed to have animals anymore.
people if you can’t feed them … you dont need them !~!~!
This is sick.
What is the matter with people that keep tormenting animals because of their own twisted mind?
If you are unable to take care of yourself, much less another sentinent being–stop pretending you even know what you are doing.
And I do not want to hear about how this person was doing the best they could, blah, blah, blah.
After the first offense–it was obvious they were unfit to care for animals. Period.