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Show Timberline woman gets probation on charge of animal neglect A charge of cruelty to animals filed against a Summit County woman will be dismissed in one year if she keeps the terms of her probation set Feb. 1 in Michael K. Burton's Fifth Circuit Court. The charge, filed against Ellen Adamson of Timberline, near Summit Sum-mit Park, was based on information provided by several witnesses including Summit County Sheriff Fred Eley, local veterinarian Dr. Keith Lund, and John Fox, chief investigator for the Humane Society of Utah. According to the charge, Adamson "on or about Dec. 11, 1984 did knowingly or intentionally fail to provide the necessary food, care or shelter for animals in her custody, to wit: a horse." In a recent interview. Dr. Lund told the Record that he went to examine Adamson's horse after receiving complaints from neighbors. neigh-bors. "The horse is obviously debilitated, debil-itated, probably by the lack of nutrition," he said. "When I went over that particular day there was no feed in sight." Lund said he could find little available pasture. "As far as I can see, this horse is barely getting by. If something isn't done, I doubt that it will survive the winter." Lund said Adamson told him the horse was sick, not underfed. "If there is something medically wrong with the horse, I'm not sure what it would be," he said. Both Lund and Fox told the Record that this is not the first time that concerns have been voiced about Adamson's treatment of her horses. "As far as I'm aware it's been going on for quite some time," Lund said. Fox said the Humane Society had received previous complaints about improper care of animals by Adamson. "But it was only at this time that we felt we had sufficient evidence to go ahead with legal action," he said. The clerk for the Fifth Circuit Court in Park City said that under the terms of the probation the charge will be dropped if no similar charges are filed against Adamson within the next year. She was ordered to pay $100 in court costs. Cruelty to animals is a class B misdemeanor. |