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Abused animals found at Old Westbury farm

An Old Westbury farm kept 25 malnourished animals in filthy, dangerous conditions, Nassau County prosecutors say. Investigators released photographs showing horses so thin that their rib cages were

News 12 Staff

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Aug 19, 2015, 6:34 AM

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Updated 3,264 days ago

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An Old Westbury farm kept 25 malnourished animals in filthy, dangerous conditions, Nassau County prosecutors say.
Investigators released photographs showing horses so thin that their rib cages were showing and donkeys living in manure and debris.
Authorities charged 54-year-old Michael Dombek, the owner of Merin Farms on Jericho Turnpike, with failure to provide proper sustenance and medical care to the animals.
Horses, pigs, goats, donkeys, dogs and geese were among the mistreated animals -- five of which were immediately seized for the emergency treatment of open wounds, authorities say.
"If it had gone unchecked, those animals would have died, and all the other ones were well on their way," says acting Nassau District Attorney Madeline Singas. "The conditions were very deplorable."
Prosecutors say the animals were so hungry that some of them were eating wood off of a fence.
The Nassau SPCA says Dombek is under court order to clean up the farm and feed the animals.
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