Dedham - A state animal humane agent says she's never seen anything like this. A group of horses in Dedham, apparently just abandoned to fend for themselves.

Folks around this area in Dedham say they have been outraged by the treatment of these animals for quite some time. Neighbors, like Vanessa Davenport say the owner of the trailer Bald Mountain road in Dedham would be gone for weeks at a time, leaving her horses with no food and just an old empty bathtub where there was once water. Neighbors also say for the past two winters, these horses were left outside with no shelter from the bitter cold. "They look really hungry like you could see their bones, their backbones and stuff," says Davenport, "no blankets over their backs, just kind of walking around. You could see like ice and stuff on their hair and stuff."

Kevin Littlefield has seen the abuse as well. He's lived around here since 1998. "My 12-year-old daughter has been very upset about the horses just being in the corral no shade or nothing," he says.

Neighbors also told me this house has been without electricity for more than a year. Around noon on Wednesday, animal control officials from the state and town arrived, accompanied by a state trooper to save these animals. Chrissy Perry, a District Humane Agent with the Animal Welfare Program, is in charge of the investigation. "It's a bit of a different situation because the horses, to our knowledge, have been without food and water, no one at all caring for them for a period of time," Perry says. "So it made it a little more urgent than some other cases. We definitely see horses that are malnourished but there is someone attempting to do something."

Neighbors say they're relieved these animals will finally be taken care of. "I'm gonna be able to sleep better at night," says Davenport. "I won't be able to see them but that's ok at least they'll be getting shelter and food and the medical attention they need."

Littlefield agrees, he and his daughter can breathe a sigh of relief. "It's just heartbreaking to see that and I just hope they're going to a place where they can go out and be free like they should be."


District Humane Agent Chrissy Perry identified the owner of the horses as Jean Marie Ahearn. Perry says Ahearn already is facing one animal cruelty charge that has not been to trial yet. Perry says Ahearn could be facing more charges as a result of today's findings.

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