HOUSTON – In what began as an animal cruelty case, the legal fight to seize dozens of horses from a Waller County woman ended up in the appellate courts with no real winner emerging.
Court records show the Waller County District Attorney’s Office seized 34 horses from Kathie Digilio, a veterinarian, and prosecuted her for animal cruelty.
The criminal proceeding was ultimately dismissed and the parties reached a settlement, in which 24 of the horses would be given to True Blue Animal Rescue, three would be returned to a third-party buyer and seven would go back to Digilio.
Digilio paid True Blue $30,000 for the care of the horses while animal cruelty case was pending.
The appeal stems from True Blue’s action seeking to obtain all 34 seized horses and a judgment ordering Digilio to pay the organization $232,900.09 for boarding and care of the horses.
Court records show the trial court granted summary judgment dismissing both True Blue’s claims for declaratory relief and Digilio’s counterclaims.
On July 28, the First Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s ruling, finding True Blue was not entitled to declaratory relief and Digilio failed to prove her counterclaims.
Case No. 01-18-01087