A Ruckersville family has had their animals returned to their farm after a judge dismissed the animal care violations lodged against them.
Tammy Sterling and her mother Kandi Stirling were accused of multiple violations in January when Greene County investigators seized six miniature pigs and a pony from their Hidden Creek Farm. Investigators alleged the women were not properly caring for the animals.
“We are thrilled with this outcome and that the judge realized we care about our animals, that we’d never do anything to hurt our animals,” Sterling told The Daily Progress Wednesday after their victory in Greene County General District Court.
According to Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Daniel White, the family allowed the water in their pigpens to freeze over and remain frozen, making it impossible for the pigs to have access to clean water of an “adequate temperature."
When sheriff’s deputies arrived to inspect the farm on Jan. 17 they found “iced, completely frozen water troughs with no way for the pigs’ snouts to break through,” according to the testimony of Sgt. Caitlin Schmitt with the Greene County Sheriff’s Office.
Schmitt admitted she never saw the water troughs in person on Jan. 17; she stayed in a sheriff’s office vehicle on site while others investigated the farm. Schmitt had recently had surgery and was using crutches and could not easily access the farm’s icy, snowy ground, she said.
Investigator Kevin Freid was at the farm on Jan. 17 as well.
“Since there was already an investigation into this family, I was on site to supervise," he told the court.
Freid referenced another animal abuse and neglect case lodged against the family. In early November 2024, sheriff’s investigators seized six horses from the farm, citing neglect.
Fried admitted he had no impact on the final decision to seize the mini pigs and a pony in January.
“I’m not with animal control, but I have been involved in many animal cases,” Freid said.
Freid also said he believed the pony at the farm did not have adequate access to fresh, unfrozen water and appeared “lethargic and neglected.”
“I saw the steep trail the pony was expected to walk and up down to get to the spring of fresh water. It’s a trek to get there and back,” Freid said.
The pony was an older horse allegedly rescued eight years ago from an Albemarle County animal control seizure.
“They took the mini horse because they said he was too crippled to make it down the hill to the water cistern. He walks funny, but the vet has told my sister to put his water far away and down the hill so he would continuously get proper exercise and keep his muscles fit, as it helps him walk,” Melissa Sterling Fava, Stirling’s daughter and sister to Sterling, told The Daily Progress in an email after the January seizure.
Investigator Casey Breeden believed the pigs and pony did not have access to water or food for longer than a few hours when she arrived at the farm in January.
“Water has to be fresh and potable,” Breeden told the court. “I could see where the pigs had dug down to try and get to water. We had snow on Jan. 11 and the water buckets were still covered in snow on Jan. 17. It didn’t look like the buckets had been emptied of ice since the last snow on the 11th."
Ruckersville received snow on Jan. 11 and temperatures remained in the upper 30s and lower 40s for nearly a week before another round of snow and ice covered the area on Jan. 18. White accused the family of not removing the snow and ice from the buckets after the Jan. 11 snow.
“The pony seemed lethargic and unable to get down to the water at the spring. It was also covered in ‘burrs’ and looked unhealthy. The pony drank feverishly when we offered it fresh water,” said Breeden.
The family has faced multiple hardships in recent months. In addition to having six horses seized in early November, the family home, located on the same property as the farm, was destroyed in a fire that took firefighters more than two hours to extinguish.
Dr. Amanda Weakly-Scott, associate veterinarian at Virginia Herd Health Management Services in Madison County, testified that pigs are in no danger without potable water. Weakley-Scott cited the American Association of Swine Veterinarians telling the court, “A pig is under no risk without access to water if it’s less than 24 hours. After 24 hours, pigs can become very sick.”
“I knew the family was coming twice a day and filling up water from a neighbor’s house since losing water access due to their house fire. The pigs were in good condition with proper shelter when I examined them after the fire in early December,” said Weakley-Scott in court.
“We had multiple nights in a row of freezing temperatures and icy conditions. Anyone who lives on a farm knows you have to break up ice,” Sterling testified Wednesday.
Photographs presented to the court showed large troughs of water with a layer of ice and snow covering the top. Sterling testified it was that way intentionally.
“There were multiple water buckets in the pigpens. I filled two buckets with ice overflow. I broke up the ice and shoveled it over into other buckets, so the pigs had access to water,” said Sterling.
When asked by White if anyone had watched Sterling feed and water the animals, Sterling replied, “Nobody watched me water and feed them. That’s not my problem.”
Judge Kenneth Sneathern agreed.
“What we have is a moment in time, a moment when the water buckets were frozen in the winter. There is no evidence that the animals were impacted by this. It appears the animals had been given adequate water. It could be frozen, could have been splashed out as it’s what pigs do. And the pony had access to water in the spring as it appears to me,” said Sneathern before he dismissed the case.
The family will be in court again on Aug. 5 and 6 for a jury trial regarding the previous seizure of six horses from their farm.
Source: www.dailyprogress.com
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