Owner of 37 horses seized in Milford files motion to have them returned by Oakland County
The owner of more than three dozen horses taken by Oakland County Animal Control last week is fighting back in court.
This comes as the county continues to investigate claims of animal abuse and neglect at High Vibes Trail Rides in Milford.
The owner of High Vibes Trail Rides filed a motion through her attorneys to have her 37 horses returned to her and to get a breakdown of a court-ordered $64,000 payment she now owes while the horses are in Oakland County's care.
That bill is for the cost of seizing the horses and one month of care.
"They've never provided any itemization of what those costs go to, what those costs cover," said David Champine, a senior attorney with Flood Law, who is representing the owner.
He told us what would happen if she didn't make the payment within a month of when the horses were taken.
"As part of that, under the statute, the county can force our client to forfeit the animals. Basically, it would permanently remove those horses from our client," he said.
Champine says the complaints that led to Oakland County taking the horses are not consistent with two previous evaluations of the herd, both within a month before it was seized.
"On July 16 of this year, Oakland County Animal Control has an officer go out to our client's property. The officer goes out on that day, does a 38-minute inspection of the property, and publishes a report within Oakland County Animal Control that basically says the horses are in good condition, there's food, there's water, there's shelter for them, there's no issues," he said. "In response to that, our client has their veterinarian come out on July 30th to do an inspection of the horses. Basically determines that the herd itself is in great condition."
Champine says the complaint that led to their seizure two weeks later stemmed from another officer illegally entering the property.
"On August 4, we came to learn that an Oakland County Animal Control officer admits to being on our client's property without permission, which is an illegal entry onto our property because she's a government actor," Champine said.
We're still waiting to verify the officer's report from the July 16 visit through a pending FOIA request.
No criminal charges have been filed so far, as the county says they continue to investigate these complaints of animal abuse and neglect, with an animal rescue still evaluating the horses' conditions.
