Married Miami bodybuilders charged with starving their three horses until they were skin and bone... as their lawyer insists the animals just 'skipped a meal'
- Miami-Dade Agricultural Patrol officials seized the three animals on May 27
- Hooves had not been trimmed in at least a year and were very overgrown
- Alex Paez, 48, and wife Milagros Cowan hit with four animal abuse counts
- Cowan reportedly said the horribly emaciated horses were just 'a little thin'
- South Florida Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has them
Two married bodybuilders have been charged with animal cruelty after Florida authorities found three 'horribly emaciated' and starved horses at their ranch in a rural area of South Miami-Dade.
Miami-Dade Agricultural Patrol officials seized the animals on May 27 and Alex Paez, 48, was hit with four misdemeanor counts of animal abuse and issued a promise to appear in court.
His wife, 50-year-old Milagros Cowan, was arraigned Friday on the same charges as her husband.
Alex Paez, 48 (left) and his 50-year-old wife Milagros Cowan (right) are both facing four counts of animal abuse
Miami-Dade Agricultural Patrol officials seized three starving horses from their Miami-area ranch on May 27
It appeared the horses' hooves had not been trimmed in at least a year and they were severely overgrown
After the hungry horses were seized in May, they were handed over to the South Florida Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SFSPCA) to be nursed back to health, the agency reported.
Paez and Cowan faced similar charges before
It appeared the horses' hooves had not been trimmed in at least a year and they were so overgrown that one of the animals was having trouble walking and almost toppled over while being rescued.
SFSPCA director of ranch operations, Laurie Waggoner, called the stalls where the horses were being kept 'filthy' and said they 'looked like they hadn't been cleaned in a very long time'.
Cowan reportedly said the horses were just 'a little thin' and their hooves were 'not that bad'.
A volunteer who was assisting Waggoner, John Garcia, said: 'There was trash and dangerous debris everywhere, all over the ground, making it almost impossible to find a place to walk without stepping on something.
'There was absolutely no place to turn out the horses.'
Paez and Cowan, who participate in competitions around the US, had similar charges dropped four years ago after completing a pre-trial intervention program, the Miami Herald reported.
Their lawyer called the new charges 'no big deal' on Friday.
The couple have previously posed with their horses to show off their own muscled torsos. It is not known if the horse in this set of pictures from last year was among the emaciated horses, but it looks similar to one of them
50-year-old Milagros Cowan posed on a horse last year while flexing her biceps in a bikini
The couple were hit with four misdemeanor counts of animal abuse and issued a promise to appear in court
Alexander Michaels said: 'I wish the police would spend more time on human victims, and child victims, than on horses who skipped a meal.'
The SFSPCA is still caring for the horses and Waggoner said they have 'gained a lot of weight'.
SFSPCA board member Julie Shelton called seeing the horses every day was 'heartbreaking'.
She said: 'They are just traumatized.'
The stalls where the horses were kept were filthy and 'looked like they hadn't been cleaned in a very long time'
The horses were handed over to the South Florida Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
- WARNING GRAPHIC: 'Drunk' driver plows into OSU parade
- ISIS execute Syrian army soldier crushed to death by tank
- The moment Price is Right assistant trips and smashes set
- The moment fawn refuses to leave side of man who saved it
- 81-year-old stuns guitar shop staff with his playing
- Dramatic footage shows raid to free Iraqi hostages from ISIS
- Bully takes a beating as 'victim' unveils his boxing skills
- Drone footage shows column of migrants in Rigonce, Slovenia
- Terrifying moment plane SOARS metres overhead during...
- Woman crashed into crowd as OSU homecoming parade was ending
- 'Drunk' driver kills 3 at Oklahoma State Homecoming Parade
- Smirking child rapist sentenced to life without parole
- Vietnam 'napalm girl' immortalized in iconic 1972 photo...
- 'Being critical of Tom Cruise is being critical of...
- 'She wasn't drunk she is mentally ill': Lawyer for fast food...
- Five British tourists dead as whale-watching boat carrying...
- On the march to western Europe: Shocking pictures show...
- Now THAT'S a story! Mick Jagger's model ex Jerry Hall is...
- Pictured: Two-year-old boy and business student among four...
- Month off drinking slashes risk of disease: Abstaining found...
- 'I'm sorry': Historic moment Tony Blair FINALLY apologises...
- Pictured: The toddler, business student and retired couple...
- New ISIS video shows yet another sick method of execution as...
- Video director for Adele's new single Hello reveals why...