An eastern Iowa couple accused of abusing dozens of animals claims they were set up. Olin and Wendy Andrews face 12 counts of animal neglect after a “raid” on their farm near Palo last spring. Authorities removed more than 150 horses, dogs, cats and other animals from the property after two vets said the animals weren’t being properly cared for.
Wendy Andrews says she and her husband were set up by a woman who Andrews had refused to sell a horse to. “She had been picked up for stealing and I wasn’t comfortable selling her a horse,” Andrews says. That woman, according to Andrews, was the first to complain to authorities about the animals on the Andrews farm.
Andrews says when their animals were loaded up and taken away, people who owed her money for animals or animal boarding fees were part of the round-up.
“They had no business being there because they had owed me money,” she says. Olin Andrews says he took good care of his livestock and sometimes checked water tanks twice a day. Wendy and Olin Andrews face up to a year in prison if convicted on the charges. The case is now in the hands of a jury.