Case Report

A Franklin woman was charged with 62 counts of animal cruelty Saturday after state police responded to a complaint from a neighbor, officials said. Ramona E. Woodruff, 50, was charged with animal cruelty, state police at Sidney said. 

Walton veterinarian Dr. Peter Huyler examined the animals Friday, including 15 horses, 26 dogs and some sheep and pigs, and found some to be malnourished, troopers said. Woodruff is to answer the charges in Sidney Town Court on Aug. 28.

Sidney dog control officer Larry Burgher said Woodruff was charged with one count of cruelty for each animal at the property. She was charged with improper feeding and care for the animals, he said.

While facilities looked as if they hadn't been cleaned in several days, he said, the dogs didn't appear malnourished. Huyler said the horses were not being cared for properly and a foal had been "starving to death" before it was taken.

Though the case is still under investigation, Burgher said, "In my opinion the case seems like a dispute between neighbors."

Burgher said he had a problem between Woodruff and her neighbors several years ago when a seasonal resident complained about barking dogs. Woodruff paid a $50 fine to settle the case, he said. He didn't respond to a complaint about loose dogs at the property a short while later because of the situation.

There were so many animals at the location, Woodruff said, because she has bred Shetland sheepdogs and horses for a number of years. She moved to the Franklin location about six years ago, she said.

Some of the other livestock she took in came from others who could no longer care for them, she said.

The dogs, three pigs and two cats were taken to the Delaware Valley Humane Society in Sidney, officials said, and the other livestock were moved to a Walton farm for care.

While she was visiting some of her animals Monday at the Sidney shelter, Woodruff said the charges are based on a long-running feud with a couple of neighbors who object to her raising the animals.

With her 11-year-old son Cory Chavez playing with his Pomeranian nearby, Woodruff said when she goes to court, she will show the judge she has taken good care of her animals.

But Huyler said concern for the horses arose out of more than a complaint by a neighbor. When he went to the home Friday, he said, there was no hay or water for the horses. A foal, he said, was in worse condition than the other horses.

"It didn't have any disease, Huyler said. "It was just lack of care." The water buckets he found for the horses had holes in them, making them useless. While the horses, by law, have to be fed every 12 hours, he said, the ones in Franklin looked as if they were being fed once a day.

Huyler said the facilities at the property "were not a decent place to keep a horse."

Woodruff challenged the characterizations, saying the foal became sick about two weeks ago and she had been trying to feed it back to health. Another horse that appeared thin, she said, was about 20 years old and never could keep weight on.

Although she has been living recently in Meredith, she said she was at the property at least two hours a day taking care of her animals.

Delaware Valley Humane Society President Terri Heath said Woodruff seems willing to work with the shelter to take care of the animals.

"It's an unfortunate situation," she said. "I feel bad for the dogs and the people." Whatever the dogs need, she said, will be provided by the shelter.

It is the responsibility of the court to sort out the facts in the case, she said. "Our job is to take care of the animals and make sure they are happy and healthy."

If people want to donate supplies to help care for the animals, Heath said, they should call the shelter at 563-7780 to see what is needed.

Woodruff, who said she is a substitute teacher, said after the case has been settled she was unsure whether she would stay at the current location.

"Every time my dogs bark I am afraid," she said. "It's a terrible way to live."

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