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  • Volunteers Kattie Beaton, back left, 18, of Suttons Bay, and Ruth Bovard, ofKingsley, stand with horses at a Kingsley farm last month that were removed fromtheir owners near Fife Lake because of neglect. Record-Eagle file photo/Keith King

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February 11, 2012

Woman pleads guilty to animal cruelty

By BRIAN McGILLIVARY and JAMES RUSSELL bmcgillivary@record-eagle.com jrussell@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — The frozen carcasses of two horses lay in Danelle Marie Round's pasture on the day she pleaded guilty to a single animal cruelty misdemeanor.

Round, 39, of Fife Lake, pleaded guilty in 86th District Court on Friday to one count of abandoning or being cruel to two or three animals, a one-year misdemeanor. Sentencing is scheduled for March 2.

Authorities in January discovered seven malnourished horses on her property and were forced to euthanize two.

The incident left local horse owners, enthusiasts and neighbors upset over how long it took authorities to take action against Round.

"We were glad that she pleaded guilty; I think that's a step in the right direction ... but it should have been a felony," said Nancy Hubbard, an officer at the animal rescue group Horse North Rescue, of Kingsley. "There have been ongoing complaints for years."

Neighbor Cora Wilson complained about the horses' condition in October to officials with Grand Traverse County's animal control department. An officer came out to the property, but did nothing, Wilson said.

Wilson complained again in December when a horse died. Wilson said she sent pictures but was ignored.

In January, a Grand Traverse sheriff's deputy and a veterinarian inspected Round's property on East M-115 near Fife Lake and found two horses on the ground. They had to be euthanized.

"It should not have ever happened," Wilson said.

Round's daughter, Nikita Booth, owns the surviving horses and wants them returned from Horse North Rescue. Grand Traverse Prosecutor Al Schneider filed a civil lawsuit to determine if the horses should be forfeited to the rescue group. The hearing is set for Feb. 21.

The forfeiture process is designed to take place before the criminal case is resolved, Schneider said, but the guilty plea inverted the process. The guilty plea won't necessarily affect the civil suit, he said.

"The judge will listen to both sides and decide what to do," he said.

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