Vet charged in horse-abuse case
A veterinarian was one of two people charged Wednesday with multiple counts of animal abuse after state police found several dead horses in his pasture, along with other animals in poor health.
A veterinarian was one of two people charged Wednesday with multiple counts of animal abuse after state police found several dead horses in his pasture, along with other animals in poor health.
Clyde Rendell Shoop, 67, of Jim Thorpe, and Kimberley A. Shoop, 52, of Palmerton, both in Carbon County, each received 11 summary offense charges. Efforts to reach the two were not successful.
A Facebook page for Clyde "Renny" Shoop says he is an owner of Poco West Mobile Equine Services, and studied large animal medicine and surgery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.
According to court documents, on Jan. 20 Trooper Erin K. Cawley received a complaint about several dead horses on the property on Sunny Rest Drive in Lower Towamensing Township. Clyde Shoop owns the property and Kimberly Shoop lives there.
Two days later, investigators found the remains of one horse in the pasture, as well as three dead horses under pallets, and one under a partially burned mattress. The remains of two horses, a goat, a dog, two sheep, and a lamb were found in a pit on the property.
Police were eventually able to remove 16 horses, 20 sheep, 10 dogs, a calf, a pig, a raccoon, a wild turkey, two alligators, a boa constrictor, and several birds.
Three horses eventually were euthanized.
In 2009, Clyde Shoop was charged by an officer with Pocono Animal Rescue with four counts of animal cruelty and two counts of tampering with evidence. The charges were dismissed.
At the time, the Lehighton Times-News reported that Shoop allegedly kept four horses "in filthy conditions with manure up to their knees." There was also a lack of adequate water supply on the property, which was littered with garbage and debris.
A district court judge tossed out the charges because there was no expert witness available to testify.
In 2001, Shoop was reprimanded by the state's Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs and ordered to pay $500 for practicing veterinary medicine with an expired license.
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