By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A Centralia area couple who relinquished 25 horses and 50 goats last week were in court yesterday in connection with a charge of second-degree animal cruelty.
Gerald D. Specht, 65, and his wife Wendy Specht, 58, have both pleaded not guilty and are scheduled to return to Lewis County District Court on March 13 for a hearing.
It wasn’t so much the animals were thin, but they were living in horrible conditions, according to Lewis County Code Enforcement Supervisor Bill Teitzel.
Teitzel described the horses’ feeding area as littered with obstacles such as barbed wire and finding injuries to the horses’ feet and legs. When Teitzel visited the property, he found about 10 of the goats inside the darkened remnants of a house, he said.
The floor was covered with mud and animal waste, he said.
The Spechts themselves are living in a tent as their home burned several years ago, Teitzel said.
The property is on the 600 block of Teitzel Road east of Centralia.
“My take on this, is the people were overwhelmed,” Teitzel said. “But I think they ended up taking responsibility.”
The couple previously lived in a recreational vehicle, but code enforcement had found issues with their sewage set up, he said.
The county had been monitoring the situation since October and when they visited on Feb. 13, found two dead horses not properly disposed of, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
Teitzel and sheriff’s Cmdr. Steve Aust described visits last week which included the state veterinarian who found one horse so diseased it had to be euthanized.
A search warrant was served at the property a week ago Friday.
They didn’t have anyone to help to deal with the problems, according to Teitzel.
The Washington State Livestock Coalition persuaded the Spechts to give up the animals. The horses were removed to Pierce County where they were to be cared for. The plan was to keep the goats in Lewis County, where there are many options for finding takers, he said.
The couple were cited by code enforcement for solid waste issues, failure to bury a dead animal. Teitzel also was going to make a referral call to Adult Protective Services for the couple themselves, he said.
The Spechts yesterday after court said they had no comment, that any comment should come through their attorney.
They are each charged with one count of second-degree animal cruelty, alleging at the very least they knowingly allowed an animal to live under conditions that caused unnecessary pain. It is a gross misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of 364 days in jail or a $5,000 fine or both.
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Revised Code of Washington: Animal cruelty in the second degree (owner): RCW 16.52.207 [1]