The trial of Dr. Chong Lee and Keum H. Lee continued until Thursday, April 29. The following is from the testimony of Lynda Broas, director of Equine Rescue, Inc. as well as the three neighbors who tried for weeks to get the police to check on Suzi and Whiskey, the horses' new names. Whether anyone went to the Lee house to notify Mrs. Lee that her horses needed a vet, I do not know, but they certainly should have. I strongly believe in confronting one's neighbors honestly and upfront. The Lees are not dangerous people, so the women might have done that. I am not criticizing them though; were it not for Tara Sullivan, Susan Dano and Stephanie, the police would never have gone out at all.

Tara Sullivan, who sells hay, but not to the Lees, testified that she called the police and went to the Wallkill Police Department, March 31, 2009. She then called a second time and left a message in which she told the Desk Sgt. her complaint. She later learned the police went out, but a couple of days later nothing was done and the mare had a blanket on. I believe that was to cover the sight of her ribs.

Tara then made another phone call. The next day Tara went to the Wallkill Police Department and talked to Officer Joe Gorman. She told him she wanted something done. She also called Lynda Broas asking what to do. She left a message for David Ayres, Orange County Sherriff's department as well.

An officer went out to see the horses on April 2, but stated that he was, "nervous around horses" and so did not get out of his car. Later, the defense attorney showed him a log that suggested he did get out and knock on the door. The Animal Control Officer (ACO), Sharon Weber, had a broken leg at the time and could not go, but she managed to return with him on April 16. ACO Weber confronted Mrs. Lee and saw and smelled the mare's face. But no one was arrested. On April 17, Susan Dano, a neighbor came home to find Suzi had broken out and was in her yard across the street attempting to eat grass. When Susan got close to Suzi she almost vomited at the smell and the horror of this innocent horse's condition. She called the police.

This time Officer Joe Gorman went out, called Pine Bush Equine veterinarian, Racheal Fiske, and Lynda Broas of Equine Rescue. He placed Mrs. Lee under arrest. The local mail carrier also testified that she saw the horses in the fall and they were fat and then not again until March, when they appeared in poor condition.

The Lees had kept them in a garage like a car.

As our wonderful prosecutor, Jamie Ferrara stated, "They put them in the garage in the winter like a car and brought them out in the spring. They are not cars."

At last, the ordeal was nearly over. Suzi and Whiskey were transported to Bloomingburg where they reside today. They each gained back all their weight and more, but Suzi still had to endure surgery, painful treatment, cleaning of thousands of maggots, and weeks and weeks of special small meals. The latest I hear is that she is a spoiled girl; the way she should be.

So the judge saw all the photos, heard all the witnesses, heard the defense claim that there was no intent to harm, which had to be proven for the felonies to stick.

The costs to the vet and the rescue group must be huge. I cannot fathom the payment to the lawyers. All that publicity and trouble and all the Lees had to do was call a veterinarian to their home to exam the animals.

Judge Jeffrey Berry rendered his verdict on all counts in the case presented against Keum and Chong Lee regarding the terrible abuse of two horses seized, last spring, on their Wallkill property. The judge ultimately found the Lees guilty of misdemeanor animal cruelty, but not guilty on the more serious felony charges.

On June 25, Judge Berry will pass sentence at the Goshen Courthouse.

Of this case, Linda Brink of Sunnyskies Bird and Animal Sanctuary in Warwick wrote, "So there you have it. The voice of justice. Which means, quite simply, this: because of the language of the law, you can inflict life threatening pain and suffering on an animal, in New York State, and walk away, judged NOT GUILTY of felony animal abuse. You can garden in your yard while, yards away, a horse stands, head hanging in unendurable pain, suffering minute by minute, with no food provided, every rib protruding and be judged NOT GUILTY of animal abuse."

She continued, "Go to this website: http://www.nysenate.gov/ and here http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem. Find your elected representatives and call and write and email them today and demand the word intent be removed from the felony animal abuse law and the word neglect be put into the law. Tell them you want language that will truly protect animals from human abusers written into the felony animal abuse law of New York State, and you want it now."