Crime & Safety
Stamford PD: Horses Found in "Deplorable" Conditions Lead to Pair's Arrest on Cruelty to Animals Charge
The emaciated horses were found lying in manure; two had to be euthanized, police say.
Two people are facing cruelty to animal charges after Stamford Police found a number of emaciated horses living in “deplorable” conditions — two of which had to be euthanized — at a Stamford horse farm.
The arrests are the culmination of a six-week investigation by police and Stamford Animal Control after police were contacted by New England Equine in Patterson, NY to conduct a welfare check on the animals. Stamford Police said in a statement that veterinarians at New England Equine made the request Jan. 25, a day after a three-year-old Appaloosa mare named “Muppet” that “was very dehydrated and malnourished when she was brought to the Equine Center. Fearing for the safety of the other horses the equine center notified the SPD to do a welfare check.”
The horses were at Rock Spring Farms located at 405-421 Old Long Ridge Rd.
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“Upon arrival at Rock Spring Farms, officers found the barn in a deplorable state,” according to police. There were five horses in the barn. “One horse, identified as “Lacey”, was a 4 Y/O Appaloosa mare who was positioned on the ground and gasping for air,” according to police. At that point, officers requested the assistance of the Stamford Police Detective Bureau, Identification unit, and Animal Control unit to conduct an investigation.
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Here’s how Stamford Police described the scene investigators saw:
“They found that the barn had holes in the walls, wires exposed, doors unsecure and all the stalls appeared not to be cleaned with a large amount of manure left for the animals to lie on. There was a sparse amount of food left for the equines and any water that had been left was frozen over. Both “Muppet” and “Lacey” had open sores, matted and wet fur, and may bones exposed from a lack of nutrition. A veterinarian was dispatched to the scene and made the determination that “Lacey” was extremely emaciated and dehydrated and would have to be euthanized. “Muppet” had the same diagnosis and was later euthanized at the Equine center. Both horses were later transported to have necropsy’s performed. The results showed that both horses suffered from Emaciation (Starvation) and severe Dehydration.
Police said they found the owner of the barn, Eileen Lenihan, 57, who told police that “she owned several of the horses and the others were owned by Jose Dejesus Rodriquez, 37. Lenihan stated that she believed that Rodriquez was caring for the stable and the care of all the horses on her property.”
Police also said, “Rodriquez arrived at the scene and stated that he believes that the horses may have been poisoned and that he notified Mrs. Lenihan the day before. Neither Lenihan nor Rodriguez could give a reasonable explanation of why the stable was in such a deplorable state and why there was no food or water for the horses. This location had also been a subject of neglect complaints in the past which had been investigated by the animal control unit. The remaining horses were examined by veterinarians, treated, removed and placed in an equine rescue through the course of this investigation.”
Sgt. Butch Lupinacci applied for and obtained arrest warrants charging Lenihan and Rodriguez, whose addresses were not immediately available, with cruelty to animals. Rodriguez was arrested Thursday and Lenihan surrendered to police on Friday morning. Each was released after posting a $10,000 bond.
In a statement, Stamford Police Lt. Diedrich Hohn and Capt. Richard Conklin said, “We would like to commend Sgt. Lupinacci, Animal Control Officer (Tilford) Cobb and other members of SPD who had to investigate and observe these animals in such a fragile state. Sgt. Lupinacci and Ofc. Cobb thoroughly investigated this heinous crime and brought some justice to the perished animals.”
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