Days later, Blaze's Tribute Equine Rescue helped save 52 live animals in dire need of medical attention from the same property. Now, three months later, the District Attorney has filed five counts of felony animal cruelty charges against the owners. District Attorney Dennis Smith says, "We feel like there was probably no malicious intent. That this is probably a situation where some people got in over their head."
Some residents in the area are upset there are only five counts when there were dozens of animals involved. When questioned about it Smith said, "If people get upset, they get upset. This is the way we're going to do it and I make that decision. Obviously the number of animals involved we could have probably filed many many more. This is basically to get things going."
Each count can carry five years behind bars. Smith says they will decide later if they will file more charges in this case.