Souris Valley Humane Society assists in animal maltreatment case near Grenora

Friday, June 09, 2006  — Time: 2:42:07 PM EST

By MIKE MANSTON, Staff Writer manston@ndweb.com

The Souris Valley Humane Society does not usually participate in on-site rescues, but when the organization got a call to assist in a case of animal mistreatment near Grenora, the SVHS was glad to help out.

It’s not that SVHS doesn’t want to do more, it is not allowed by law to mediate in on-site animal rescues unless asked to assist by law enforcement agencies.

Kim Lester, 41, was arrested and charged a week ago with two counts of animal maltreatment on her farm about six miles southwest of Grenora. Authorities said that Lester had horses, dogs and poultry confined to a very small area, and the animals had not received food or water for days. Authorities found eight dead horses and three dead dogs in a pasture on the property.

Kristine Seabolt, animal care supervisor at SVHS, went to the residence this past Monday and brought nine dogs back to the shelter for care. Seabolt brought three shelties, one Boston terrier, an Australian shepherd and four German shepherds back to Minot. Although the dogs weren’t emaciated, there were obvious signs of neglect and maltreatment. Seabolt described them as being very unsocialized and not used to be being handled.

Some of the dogs have already been taken care of while others from the Grenora area will need to receive some work with handlers before they will be ready to be turned out, Seabolt said. A rescue operation in Minnesota has already accepted the shelties, the Boston terrier has been adopted and the Australian shepherd has been placed in foster care, all since arriving back in Minot on Monday.

Seabolt said the conditions she witnessed on the farm were very bad and estimated that by the time she arrived on the scene, the conditions had likely improved since the arrest this past Friday. She said that the case of neglect and the situation at the farm at Grenora definitely ranked high on the list of similar situations she has been involved with in the past.

Some of those conditions Seabolt described seeing on her visit Monday included dog areas that had been worn down to the dirt where the dogs had been leashed, feces everywhere and several animals housed in spaces designed for many less. She also said a few of the skeletal animal remains on the property appeared to be from very recent expirations.

“I don’t know if this was as bad as I’ve ever seen, but it definitely ranks right up there with the worst,” Seabolt said. “Usually in cases like this, (law enforcement) doesn’t act so quickly, so it must have been pretty bad. I was very impressed with how fast everything happened. Things like this usually don’t happen on this scale here very often, probably one every two or three years.”

SVHS chief executive officer Kathy Sconyers termed the Grenora situation “dreadful.” Sconyers, who has just been on the job since the beginning of the week, warned that when people give their animals away for adoption, they check on where the animals are really going.

“People sometimes think they are giving their animals away to a farm where they can be free and are actually giving them to these kinds of places,” Sconyers said. “That’s why it’s very important to actually check out where they’re going to make sure they’re getting a good place to go and don’t end up like this.”

Both Sconyers and Seabolt said the SVHS is looking for volunteers to assist with the animals taken in from Grenora and also with the other animals already housed at the shelter. Both encouraged volunteers to stop by the office or call and inquire where they can help out.

“We’ll put anyone to work,” Sconyers said. “People can volunteer time helping out with the animals and of course, cash is always good. We can always use help and we have plenty of animals ready for adoption for anyone interested.”

The number for the SVHS is 852-6133.