Butler County District Attorney Rich Goldinger said since his decision to withdraw the third and final case of animal abuse charges filed against a horse owner, he’s been criticized.

“They say I’m not an animal lover. This had nothing to do with being an animal lover or not. This had to do with whether or not we could prosecute these cases,” Goldinger said Wednesday. “I follow the letter of the law.”

Goldinger’s office a day earlier withdrew all 23 counts against 57-year-old Elan Welter-Lewis of Clearfield Township.

Welter-Lewis had been accused of neglecting 10 horses at her home on McEvoy Road in Clearfield Township. State police in May removed the horses from her property, claiming the animals were emaciated and living in poor conditions and in need of veterinary care.

“We had multiple reasons to drop this case,” Goldinger said. “First, we had credibility issues with some of our witnesses. And second, we had conflicting reports from two veterinarians on whether or not these animals were abused.”

Goldinger would not elaborate on the credibility issues he was citing.

“This just led me to believe we could not prove these charges beyond a reasonable doubt. It’s my duty to look at what we can prove and what we cannot prove and go from there,” Goldinger said.

Welter-Lewis, when contacted for this report, said, “I have an independent veterinarian report stating that the animals should have never been taken.

“The community needs to be aware that this group (the Equine Angels Rescue group that took possession of the horses) has not successfully prosecuted any case that I am aware of in Butler County and that has happened for some very specific reasons. These reasons are very controversial, and they will be addressed in federal court.”

Welter-Lewis is one of five horses owners suing Equine Angels Rescue in federal court, claiming the Cabot-based group orchestrated the criminal charges to take animals and to garner publicity.

Butler attorney Alexander Lindsay, who represents both Welter-Lewis and the other horse owners in the lawsuit, said, “We think dismissing the charges against Ms. Lewis is a step in the right direction. It is our intention to pursue the legal action that has been filed (against Equine Angels Rescue, a state trooper and a veterinarian) until the matter is properly resolved. Our object now is to get back the horses which were wrongfully seized from our clients.”

Two of the other people who filed suit also originally had charges filed against them by state police that were withdrawn by Goldinger in July.

Brian Arendosh, 49, of Fairview Township had been accused of abusing six horses — two paint horses, two quarter horses and two thoroughbreds. Of his decision on Arendosh’s case, Goldinger would say only, “In the interest of justice and using our prosecutorial discretion, we withdrew the citations.”

Gerry J. Geibel, 22, of Summit Township had faced six counts of animal cruelty for allegedly failing to provide adequate shelter for some of his horses. Authorities alleged Geibel is responsible for tending to 12 to 14 horses in a barn that his family owns about one-half mile from their home on Osche Road.

The citations state police filed represented six of the horses, according to court documents. Of his decision on this case, Goldinger said, “The horse owners were given an opportunity to correct the problem, and they complied. We had an agreement that the citations would be withdrawn if they complied.”

Since withdrawing the case against Welter-Lewis, Goldinger said he has received at least 25 e-mails from people who disagree with his decision, many of whom claim to have seen photographs of the horses.

“I’ve never seen any photographs,” Goldinger said. “But if they are accurate that means someone is sharing our evidence. That taints the evidence ... And even if these pictures exist, they would not make or break a case. I know all the other issues involved, and we would not have won these cases.”

Goldinger, who owns horses and dogs, notes that, “I understand what it takes to take care of them and the expense. It’s also my duty to evaluate cases independently, impartially and determine whether or not they should be prosecuted.”

He points out that animal abuse is a summary charge, like a speeding ticket or a headlight violation.

“Normally, my office does not even get involved in summary cases. We wanted to do the right thing here so we got involved,” Goldinger said. “But, we must follow the letter of the law.” Goldinger said he is assembling a committee that will outline protocol on how to investigate such cases.