Zuni couple charged with animal cruelty

ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY, Va. - The owners of a Zuni farm where two dead horses and dozens of dogs were found last month, are now charged with animal cruelty.

Jeffrey and Diana Hansford each face 20 counts of animal neglect, after authorities removed 30 horses and dozens of dogs from their farm in Zuni.

At the Virginia Beach SPCA Thursday, one of the animals from the couple's farm was adopted by a local family. Dozens of horses, many of them malnourished and needing emergency care were taken from the Hansford family's farm in Zuni, along with a number of dogs.

Jack, a flatcoated retriever, was rescued, taken to the Virginia Beach SPCA and adopted by Betty Noe. She says it's sad that his former owners are accused of animal cruelty.

Noe told WAVY.com she's, "very glad they (Jeffrey and Diana Hansford) were charged." She was also glad to know the couple can never have animals again.

Noe's other dog recently passed away. Jack's new name will be Amigo Cinco because he's her fifth pooch.

"He has really come a long way. The foster parent Jim told us he was very shy in the beginning. He was afraid of the television, afraid of everything. I think he's come a long way and he's very sweetz," Noe said.

Foster parent Jim Morris says the dog had intestinal parasites and wasn't friendly at first.

"He was just very skittish, very afraid. he's just gradually unfolded. About a week ago he realized he could be comfortable and he just came out of his shell. It was really nice to see."

In all, the SPCA got nine dogs from the Zuni farm.

SPCA Executive Director Sharon Adams tells us, "They were puppy mill dogs. They were unsocialized. As you can see from this wonderful story, animals are very forgiving. And having some time in a good foster home enables us to turn them around. Then they can be re-adopted."

Betty Noe says she's very lucky. Her new dog is just what she was looking for.

An arraignment for the Hansfords is set for next Thursday at the Isle of Wight County Courthouse. The Hansfords face 20 counts of animal cruelty and were released on $10,000 each.