3/4/13 - A Cohoctah Township woman facing animal cruelty charges involving a dozen horses is getting them back following a recent court hearing. 70-year-old Velva Jean Wainscott was charged with a single count of abandoning or cruelty to 10 or more horses after authorities raided her Byron Road home November 8th and seized the horses. A hearing was held to determine if Wainscott must forfeit ownership of the horses, which have been housed at the Chase Lake Equine Center. Court records show the parties met and a judgment order submitted that stipulated the horses were to be returned to Wainscott and that she was to pick them up as soon as possible. Wainscott has strenuously denied neglecting the horses and previously said the raid was due to an overly-zealous Animal Control department. A hearing on the animal cruelty charge in Livingston County Circuit Court has been adjourned until May. Livingston County Animal Control Director Debbie Oberle declined to comment on the recent order due to the ongoing criminal case but previously said the raid followed an investigation that began in September 2012 after Animal Control officers responded to a complaint of a loose stallion that belonged to Wainscott. Officials say there have been dozens of complaints against her, dating back more than ten years. The horses were alleged to have been deprived of an adequate source of water and a proper diet of food, with all but one said to have worms. (JK)
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