Animal cruelty nets 360 days in slammer

A Sacramento man who starved horses on a south Sutter County ranch will not be allowed to own so much as a cat or dog while on probation.

Sutter County Judge Chris Chandler on Monday sentenced Daniel Shawn Burke to three years' probation and 360 days in the Sutter County Jail for animal cruelty, with credit for 162 days served since Burke was arrested in Placer County after jumping bail.

Neighbors of the ranch in the 6200 block of Pleasant Grove Road reported the starving horses in February 2005. Animal Control Services officers arrived and found one horse lying on the ground, so weak it could not rise.

That horse and one other had to be euthanized, Deputy District Attorney Jana McClung told the judge.

Burke, 42, caused "heinous, untold suffering to numerous animals," McClung said.

Before he was sentenced, Burke told a Sutter County probation officer he was taking care of the horses for his ex-girlfriend, who owned them.

Burke said he felt bad for the horses, but that every time he gave the woman money for their food she would "blow it on dope," according to a Probation Department report.

Animal Control Services seized four surviving horses, restored them to health and auctioned them. Others were given to neighbors.

In 2005, veterinarian Susan Gillen testified that one horse gained 250 pounds in 45 days after being rescued.

Horse owner Kathleen Ades testified she sold two horses to Burke in September 2004 — an Arabian gelding named Tiger and a mare named Mattie. Both animals were in "very good condition," she said.

By February, both animals were emaciated and had ribs showing, she said.

Chandler called the case "an extreme crime."

Burke's attorney, Michael Sullinger, said his client "could have done more." But the horses belonged to someone else, and other people who were involved were not prosecuted, he said.

Contact Appeal reporter Rob Young at 749-4710 or at ryoung@appeal-democrat.com