In April 2011, Adya and I moved into where we are currently living. It's a quaint 2,000 sq ft house with 3 br, and 2 ba. It has a massive kitchen, and a huge living room with a fireplace. The house sits on 3 acres of land. We thought this was going to be awesome! I looked it over, and even checked the pipes, wiring, and paint work. There were some minor issues which I notified the land lord of. He said they'd be fixed before we moved in.
When we went to sign the list we had a checklist of items which were given to him to be fixed, and others which we agreed would be fine. So far, nothing on the list has been completed, and he claims to have lost the list. Things have been rocky since getting this house. We had gotten it as a rent to own agreement, but since have realized that this house is a money dump.
The house needs a new roof, the chimney needs fixed, new electrical, new insulation, landscaping, and seriously needs some updating. Upon moving in and cleaning things, we realized how bad it really was. The cabinets are 40yrs old, and won't close w/o the childproof locks I took off. The doors need sanded and re-stained. The chimney is leaning into the house b/c the wood supporting it has rotted from the crappy roof. The chimney leaks and won't work b/c of this. The insulation is minimal in the house. I can hear crickets outside! The yard is overgrown with monster shrubs, honey suckle, and prairie hay which is a pain to cut in the summer. The walls he painted, need repainted since you can see the last coat of paint. The bathrooms are tiny, and still in the style of the house (1973). The "master" bathroom is only a 8 x 6.5. The basement needs finished, and insulated. Also, the ceiling in the basement is only 6'9" so everything is super small. The two car garage looks awesome from the street, but it's only 7' tall. Given the automatic garage doors...it's too small to fit anything larger than a Honda Civic or PT Cruiser.
All this aside we got the property so we could hopefully save some money, and have our three horses in the back yard. I checked the zoning regulations, and checked with our neighbors to see we could. Everything seemed fine until month two of living there....
We were harassed almost weekly by animal control. One of our neighbors complained that the horses were too loud, were starved, had no water, were abused, smelled bad, etc. Animal control sent an officer out almost weekly until late July. At that point, they seized the horses; claiming that they were starving and dying of dehydration. They accused us of three counts of animal cruelty.
Prior to them taking the horses, the horses were fed a round bail of hay (free access), 3lbs of grain (each), 1 lb sunflower seeds(each), 1/2 lb beet pulp (each), and weight gainer once the summer months hit. They were also supplied with a salt & mineral block. We also had a 12 gallon automatic refilling water container for them. According to animal control this was insufficient. However, the boarding facility where we were keeping them prior only fed them 2 flakes of hay twice a day (each) and a half scoop (3 pints) grain daily.
According to animal control there were three times from April-July that the horses were without water. Two of the times the hose ruptured, and the yard was flooded. That was fixed the very next day each time. The last time I was cleaning the water bucket out since one of them decided to poop in it.
One of the neighbors informed me in July that someone had been messing with the horses and turning off the water, and he would come over and have to turn it back on. On one of the days he did that, the person who was screwing with them put something in the water container and was trying to hit the horses. He called animal control. The VERY next day they were taken. I was informed that one of the horses had collapsed from heat exhaustion and starvation. I was also told that he had been laying down that day or the day before. They also informed me that a cat and dog vet had inspected the horses, and stated that they would've died in two days. Mind you, the weather was 120 outside, but it wasn't anything the horses hadn't been in before. I saw none of this seeing as we had them out the day before feeding them and grooming them.
I had been speaking to the animal control officer not even a day before about how i was going to be moving two of them to Arkansas with a family member, and the other would be going back to the boarding facility since it was obvious someone didn't want me to have the horses there.
The day after the horses were taken, I called animal control and was given a totally different accounting of events. The officer i spoke to at that time stated that the horses hadn't gone down on the Tuesday, but that Monday. She also informed me that the Vet was out on Monday after one of the horses supposedly got wrapped around the barbed wire fence. This was peculiar since Monday night all of the horses were fine, and not a single scratch on them.
I called a week or so later to try to figure out what the hell was going on. The horses were also due for their shots and their dewormer. The captain of the shawnee county animal control unit took my call and was screaming at me. He stated that the officer I had been in contact with the whole time had been recording my conversations with her, but did not record the ones where she had spoken to me about getting them moved, or saying that their set up was fine. She also stated that she had the same set up for her two horses....
Instead he stated that the horses didn't go down on that Monday or Tuesday, and I never spoke to an officer Monday. He said that they had to lift the horses into the trailer b/c they were unable to walk they were so dehydrated, starved and exhausted.
When I arrived home the night they were taken, I had walked into the back yard to check on them and to take them their grain. That's when i realized they were missing. Their water bucket had been knocked over, the hose cut, and yet they still had a 2,500 lb bail of hay inside and some grain from that morning. I went into the house to call the police when I saw the search and seizure warrant.
All this time has passed since July, and last week Adya was arrested on three counts of animal cruelty. I bailed her out of jail ($250). A day later a warrant was posted for me for the same charges, and same bail. I bailed myself out before I went to jail that day. They were pressing the same charges on us, but separately. Usually, when there are animal cases both parties get the same charges and same case. For some reason they divided it up for us.... That seems a bit off.
We have court in November to hopefully get an extension for a lawyer. I have no clue how we are going to afford that since the house we're living in is seriously about 70% of our income. Adya just had to have it, and wouldn't listen to reason. Not only that, but the Land Lord added extra fee's at the time we signed for it. We're pretty much screwed.
It doesn't matter that we rescued two of the three horses, or that we work with horse rescue in the state. We also work with dog rescues across the US! The rescues that we've helped have offered to speak as character witnesses for us. I'm grateful for that seeing as they put themselves, and their reputations on the line.
It won't matter for anything since we more than likely won't be able to afford a lawyer. It's a double retainer fee since it's technically two separate cases. Toss in $1,580 in rent, $780 bills, gas, and food for the month that leaves us only 225 for a lawyer. Thankfully, not having the horses there saves us $200 per month.
Moving to this house has been hell, and it's only getting worse. Now it's time for maintance on the car, and I could very well be loosing my job. The company I work for can't pay the rent on the offices, and has had issues being able to pay payroll!
I'm completely at a loss for what to do, or how we are going to get out of this situation. The house was a bad idea, and we were talking about trying to get a pro bono lawyer to get us out of the three year lease on it since we can't afford it, and he's not done any maintenance on the house. Now this happens...
I really don't get it. I go out of my way to help others. I do the right thing. I don't steal, cheat, kill, back stab, or do anything malicious to anyone. I do things without a thought of what I'll get out of it. Yet, look what happens. Things ALWAYS go from good to bad, to worse, to pitch black. Eventually, they get slightly better, and get a little better than that, only to go through the same cycle.
I can't ever catch a break. A few years ago, I put $20,000 towards a business with a friend of mine. He screwed me over, and ended up getting me evicted and fired since he knew the L.L. and claimed I robbed our store. (it was actually robbed, but no clue who did it) I ended up having to move across the country with a friend b/c I had no place to stay due to his backstabbing, and I could afford no lawyer given the situation and he moved to Canada.
When I finally started to catch a break, and get things on track I let Adya move in with me. Things went downhill fast. She didn't have a job and I ended up having to pay for her horse in NY. She ended up moving that horse out here, and I still had to pay for it since she didn't have the money to do so. While living in the apartment where I wasn't suppose to have cats she ended up bringing home 4 cats (1 ran away, 1 kitten fell off the balcony when she forgot to close it), and 4 dogs. One of the dogs was picked up for a rescue, but things fell through. It took almost a year to place her. The def great dane ended up dieing from EPI, and we still have the other two. During this time she picked up a horse for me, and another horse for herself. Mind you she would only see her horse when I nagged her to go work with him. Having 1 horse is at a CHEAP boarding facility is about $8,000 /year expense. Not only that, but the second one she got herself was starved almost to death, and was $5,000 the first two months.
She ended up getting us evicted from the apartment for having all the animals in it. 680sq ft apartment with 2 cats, and four dogs..... No beuno. We were looking for houses, and had decided on something less than $900/month. We found a lot of super nice houses that were brand new that we could've bought for around 600-875/month, but they didn't have a yard for the horses. She had to have the one with a HUGE yard that was out of our budget. We waited weeks, and looked around. All the while she was throwing a fit b/c we weren't going to get the one we are in now. She had to have it no matter what!
At this point I wouldn't be able to get an apartment on my own, and I was stuck with the dogs. Animals are a responsibility not an accessory to be tossed. I couldn't get a house on my own since she screwed my credit, and I was paying for her car. It was my money going to bills while her's went for the animals. She'd spend $1500 on a cat or dog she'd pick up, and tell me about it after it left so I'd have to cover the bills. All the while, I"m paying for the car in her name so we can get back and forth. I never had a dime to put back for anything, and still don't b/c of the house and the current situation.
I could've left before the animal charges came back and the other crap she pulled, but I couldn't leave the dogs. Adya doesn't take care of animals after the first or second week. They become a chore and something she doesn't want to do after that point. When I re-homed one of the dogs she threw a fit and called the police. Apparently, in Kansas pets are considered personal property, and that was the same as theft...
If i leave they would die. I found that out when I left for a week on business. I went to a conference for work, and she hadn't fed or watered the dogs or cats for that whole time. She also didn't take them out of their crates!!!!
I had the chance to get out and go to Kansas City with my sister. It wasn't an ideal situation, but it would've been another start away from the insanity. It's honestly more than I can deal with. Even as I'm writing this I feel cold and hollow. I can't believe how the events have turned out, and I have no clue what will come of this.
Even if the charges get dropped, I'll have to pay $10/day per horse to get them back only to give them away. If we loose I go to jail 30 days for each charge...that's 90 days! I'd loose my job, loose the house, loose my possessions, and STILL have to pay the $10/day for the horses, any vet care they provided, and a fine of $500-$5,000.
I can't win for anything... If anyone does read this I apologize for the incoherent structure of this post, and the way it jumps around. However, if someone really does read this. I'd really like some form of input...
Thanks..
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