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LISBON -- Upcoming court dates were set Monday in the case against Heather J. Birkmire, who is accused of cruelty to animals in the deaths of five horses last year at Pure Gold Stables in Salem Township.
Dates were set for a status conference hearing at 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 28, and a jury trial at 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 12 during a brief pretrial hearing Monday. No changes were made to the bond or its conditions in the case.
Birkmire, 46, Eagleton Road, Lisbon, who was in attendance Monday, has been out of jail under a $5,000 recognizance bond, with a condition of bond that she's not allowed any contact with any livestock or companion animals.
In May, Birkmire entered a not guilty plea to five counts of cruelty to animals, a second-degree misdemeanor, and four counts of disposition of dead or destroyed animals violations, a fourth-degree misdemeanor. Birkmire, now the former operator of Pure Gold Stables and Equestrian Center, located on state Route 45, was initially indicted by the Columbiana County Grand Jury. However, the case was transferred to the municipal court as all the charges are misdemeanors.
The indictment alleged all the incidents related to the charges occurred from May 1, 2024, to Oct. 26, 2025. On the charges of cruelty to animals, it is alleged that Birkmire "did torture an animal, deprive one of necessary sustenance, unnecessarily or cruelly beat, needlessly mutilate or kill, or impound or confine an animal without supplying it during such confinement with a sufficient quantity of good wholesome food and water." The other charges levied against Birkmire concern how the bodies of the deceased horses were handled. Four of the bodies were located in a round pen in varying stages of decomposition with some covered by blankets and others confined in stalls on Oct. 27, 2025.
According to a previous press release by Columbiana County Prosecutor Vito Abruzzino, "necropsy results confirmed evidence of dehydration and starvation" and the "skeletal remains of a fifth horse were also recovered from a burn pit on the property." A necropsy could not be conducted on the skeletal remains of the fifth horse.
If Birkmire is convicted on all counts and the jail terms are ordered to be served consecutively, she could face a maximum penalty of up to 570 days in the Columbiana County Jail.
The possible penalty for the second-degree misdemeanor cruelty to animals charge is up to 90 days per count and a fine of up to $750 per count, or up to 450 days in jail and $3,750 in fines if sentenced to consecutive terms. For the fourth-degree misdemeanor, the possible penalty is up to 30 days in jail for each count and a fine of up to $250 per count, or up to 120 days in jail and $1,000 in fines if ordered served consecutively.
The charges against Birkmire are not felonies because Goddard's Law, which makes inflicting serious harm to companion animals a felony offense in Ohio, does not apply to horses which are classified under the law as livestock. The Ohio Revised Code defines a companion animal as "any animal that is kept inside a residential dwelling and any dog or cat regardless of where it is kept," and specifically excludes "livestock or any wild animal" from being considered companion animals under the law.
On Aug. 12, State Rep. Monica Robb Blasdel, R-New Waterford announced that she had introduced the Ohio Equestrian Protection Act to extend the protections of Goddard's Law to horses in response to the ongoing case. According to a press release from Blasdel, if the bill is approved, those protections would be extended to ""horses and other equines used in human interaction, including for sport, recreation, lessons, therapy and racing."
"What happened in Columbiana County was horrific, and the fact that our current law could only charge it as a misdemeanor tells you everything about the gap we need to close," Blasdel said in the press release. "Horses that serve people – in therapy, in sport, in lessons – deserve the same protection under Ohio law that our companion animals have. This bill is about making sure that those who commit acts of cruelty against these animals face consequences that reflect the seriousness of what they've done."