Michigan Correspondent

IMLAY TWP., Mich. — All felony charges of animal abuse have been dropped against members of the Mills family.

In a preliminary hearing earlier this month, District Judge Laura Barnard dismissed charges of felony animal abuse against Ellen Mills, her husband Mark Mills and their son Andrew Mills.

The family, including daughter Kate Mills, was arrested in March after Jackson County animal control officers removed seven dead lambs, a dead horse and three dogs that were said to be undernourished. Last summer the charges against Kate Mills were dropped after she provided evidence that she was at college when the alleged abuse took place; but the charges against the rest of the family remained.

The most serious charge arose from an allegation that they starved a horse. If found guilty, they could have faced up to four years in prison on the horse charge alone.

“The judge found that there was no evidence of abuse of any kind,” Ellen said. “It was obvious to her that the animals had been fed as there was a blockage of food in the esophagus of the dead horse. … The judge said it was apparent that there was veterinary care and she dismissed the felony charges against all of us.”

Byron Konschuh, the Lapeer County prosecutor in charge of the case, said he was a little surprised at the dismissal of the charges. His position is that the horse wasn’t being fed properly.

“It finally got fed and ate so voraciously that it choked,” he said of the horse in question.

There are still misdemeanor charges pending against the Mills‘, including one count each of misdemeanor animal cruelty, failure to bury an animal and having an unlicensed dog.

In an earlier interview Ellen stated that the dead horse wasn’t buried because the ground was still hard.

With regard to the dead lambs, Kate stated previously that they were stillborn, and that she was saving them at the request of the USDA. She said animal control took the dead lambs out of the barn where she was keeping them, but that storing the lambs in the barn wasn’t a problem since it was still cold out.

The USDA wanted to test the lambs for rabies, she said, since they came from ewes that might have been scrapie positive.

Konschuh, however, still believes in the case against the Mills. “We have lots of evidence of what’s going on out there,” he said. “We don’t want to lock them up and throw away the key. If they’re going to raise animals we just want them to take care of them.”

A hearing is scheduled for Oct. 25 to help resolve the remaining charges.