Two Baxter residents have been charged with cruelty to animals after members of the Harlan County Humane Society, Harlan County Animal Control and Kentucky State Police responded to reports of severe animal cruelty.

Animal Control and the humane society discovered the bodies of two partially burnt horses recently and rescued another named Daisy, which later had to be euthanized due to the poor condition of her health.

Steve Clem and Teresa Clem were charged with second-degree abuse of an animal.

Animal control officer Duncan Caldwell said this was the most graphic scene of animal cruelty he ever dealt with or had seen.

“There were two horses that were dead and were pulled out into the pasture and attempted to be burnt,” said Caldwell. “What they were trying to do was incinerate them and with no success. They just burnt the hair off them. One horse was still alive in the barn.”

Humane society investigator Paula Cox said the smell at the scene and the condition of everything was the worst she has ever been around.

“When you first came up the hill you could smell rotting flesh... it smelled horrible,” said Cox. “When I first saw the dead horses lying there burnt on the ground, it was just appalling. It was horrible. It was the most horrific thing I’ve ever saw in my life.”

Caldwell and Cox asked the animals owners what had happened to cause the sort of treatment that allowed the horses to get in such poor condition.

“The only thing that they could tell me was they were feeding them but they were still loosing weight,” said Caldwell.

Cox said the humane society and animal control office contacted state Rep. Fitz Steele about the possibility of the case falling under Romeo’s Law.

Romeo’s Law raises the charge and penalty from a misdemeanor, to a Class D felony for the abuse of an animal on the first offense, if the animal suffers a serious injury or death.

Steele said Romeo’s Law would apply to Steve Clem and Teresa Clem. He also offered a comment regarding this case.

“This is very disturbing,” said Steele. “I don’t know if they couldn’t feed it or what, but I‘d view a helpless animal like a child. If you can’t take care of it or care for it, you need to let someone have it that will.”

Cox said Daisy, the rescued horse, had a lot wrong with her due to the condition of the barn. She said the only way to describe the condition of the barn where the horses are kept was ‘disturbing’.

“When we got there she (Daisy) was covered in mud, her stall stunk like something was dead,” Cox said. “Where the horses that were already dead had laid in the stall, and where the stalls were wet, it caused them (the dead horses) to decay real fast and they lost their body fluids. It ran down into her stall where there were no separation and she was stomping in that. Never mind the fact, she was having to stand where she was urinating and using the bathroom at.”

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Mark Smith examined Daisy, a 2-year-old mixed breed paint colored horse. After the examination, Smith released the following statement in his report findings.

“Upon examination, I found Daisy to be in poor condition with the body condition score of one. All of her bone structures were very noticeable and were projecting prominently. In addition to her poor condition, Daisy also exhibited a 3-inch diameter necrotic wound above her right front hoof. This wound had existed for several weeks to months and had extended into the underlying bone and therefore causing a sever case of osteomyelitis or infection of the bone.”

Smith explained that because of the extreme poor condition and the gravity of the wound, he determined it was in the best interest for Daisy to be euthanized.

Caldwell said there was no excuse for animal cruelty to take place because the animal shelter will not turn any animal away.

“If someone has a horse, dog or cat they can’t take care of, there are options other than let the animals starve to death and die,” Caldwell said. “We don’t turn anything away here at the animal shelter. We would rather see those animals come here in poor shape than have to go to their house or barn where they are being held or whatever to one that is being totally abused or neglected... If you can’t take care of the animal you don’t need it.”

Steve Clem and Teresa Clem were arraigned on Monday in Harlan District Court by Judge Jeff Brock.

Brock said there would be a preliminary hearing on Feb. 8 for Steve Clem and Teresa Clem regarding the death of all three horses.