Guilty plea for horse neglect clears way to adopt

JACKSON, Mo. -- A Jackson man's guilty plea to animal neglect, followed by speedy sentencing, cleared the path Thursday for the adoption of his three surviving horses.

In his first appearance in court, David Kinder, 55, of 1305 Farmington Road, admitted that he failed to provide adequate food and water for his horses over the winter.

The horses were seized a week ago after an anonymous letter alerted authorities to the horses' condition. When they were examined, the three animals were found to be emaciated and dehydrated. Another horse, a colt, had already died.

In an affidavit, Cape Girardeau County health director Charlotte Craig said she warned Kinder March 1 about the animals' condition and provided information about the amount of food they needed to survive. But Kinder did not comply.

Under state law, Craig's authority as county health director can extend to animals.

When the horses still weren't fed, they were seized. They're currently being lodged at Flickerwood Farms in Fruitland, and volunteers are feeding, watering and grooming them.

"We were able to intervene at an appropriate time," Craig said. She added that Kinder was extremely polite during the transfer.

"There was never a hostile moment from him," she said.

Horse surrender

Waiving his right to an attorney, Kinder represented himself before Associate Circuit Judge Gary Kamp.

Kinder was not fined. According to court records, he told animal control officers that the reason the horses weren't being fed was that he couldn't afford the hay.

Instead, Kamp sentenced Kinder to 100 hours of community service, preferably with an organization geared to helping animals.

Another special condition of Kinder's probation is that he surrender the horses to the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri and that he not own any horses during the time he's on probation.

Prosecutor Morley Swingle said paving the way toward a happy ending for the horses was key in the plea agreement.

"Finding good homes for these horses was an important goal for us in this prosecution," Swingle said. "We didn't want to rescue these horses just to have them go to the glue factory."

Craig said anyone who would get one or more of the animals would have passed screening by the Humane Society and a panel of equine handling experts.

She said the animals will need a special type of caretaker. "These girls have never been worked with," Craig said. "It'll take someone who knows how to train and how to love all at once."

She said it's probably too much to hope for that the animals will be kept together. "I'm not that pie-in-the-sky," she said. "We're not set on them staying together, but it would be nice."

abuchanan@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160