Despite the appalling conditions of his animals and the overwhelming evidence against him, the owner hired a total of seven attorneys to defend his actions.

Continued from the previous page
Finally, after 18 months of lawsuits, changing attorneys and other stalling and attempted intimidation tactics he seemed to realize that we were not going to drop the charges and that we had an extremely strong case, so he pled no contest in a deferred judgment to avoid a conviction on his record (provided he complies with all conditions of imposed sentencing and probation).

While the deferred judgment in this case was a disappointment, more importantly The SPCA won the case and was awarded custody of his horses and he is banned from owning any horses until April, 2011. He was also ordered to pay The SPCA over $30,000 in restitution for their costs incurred in providing needed veterinary, farrier, and other specialized care required for his horses.

Bucky and "Robin," a pony also involved in the case were adopted, but Thunder is still available for adoption.

"It was a long and frustrating road with this case, but well worth it to finally get justice for these three horses who suffered so terribly," said Captain Judi Adams, SPCA Humane Investigations Supervisor "It’s a huge victory for the animals."

Photo provided by SPCA for Monterey County