Veterinarian Clyde Rendell Shoop has been found not guilty on charges of animal cruelty, after appealing his case to Common Pleas Court.

Judge Steven Serfass ruled last week that Shoop, of Jim Thorpe, was not responsible for the neglect of five horses and three other animals that were seized in January 2016 from a property he owns in Lower Towamensing Township.The judge reversed a lower court's decision from last April.Shoop's attorney, Armin Feldman, said he was pleased that the judge recognized his client was not responsible for the horses."He has been dragged through a lot," Feldman said."It looked a hell of a lot more glamorous to say that a veterinarian had abused animals than to say that an ex-wife who decided not to feed her animals anymore was responsible for it."Last January, police filed 10 summary citations of cruelty to animals each against Clyde and Kimberly Shoop.In the wake of the allegations, the state suspended Shoop's veterinary license. It was reinstated in March.Kimberly Shoop pleaded guilty to two counts of cruelty to animals last year, in connection with two farm animals kept on the property. Prosecutors withdrew additional charges after she testified against her ex-husband in his trial.The charges were filed after police seized five horses from a farm Shoop owned in Towamensing Township.On Jan. 22, 2016, state police and humane society officers descended on Shoop's farm located on Sunny Rest Road. They seized five horses who police said were "dangerously thin," with rib bones, hip bones and backbones visible, and farm animals. No water or hay was observed.The horses were taken to Last Chance Ranch in Quakertown. One horse needed to be lifted by a local fire company.The horses have since been adopted.In Serfass' written decision, he said that while the horses were neglected, Clyde Shoop did not have a duty to care for them.Serfass said that the horses were acquired by Kimberly Shoop after their divorce in 2002.Even though Clyde Shoop is the owner of the property where they were found, only his ex-wife and their son lived there.Clyde Shoop had provided veterinary care for the horses in the past, but stopped in 2013. Had he continued to take responsibility for the horses' care, Serfass said, his inaction could have been defined as neglect.The prosecutor in the case, Brian Gazo, said that he was disappointed, but respectful of the judge's decision."We weren't able to show, to the judge's satisfaction, that Shoop had a responsibility for these animals," Gazo said.Gazo said that there are no plans to appeal the case at this time.Feldman said that several months before he was charged, Shoop had his office assistant report the neglect, first to a Carbon County Humane Society officer, and then to state police. He said that the animal control officer should have investigated the initial report."Here's a doctor having his office make contact with the appropriate authorities to get something done, to help those animals, and what happens, he's getting accused of being the abuser," Feldman said.He said that his client has been attempting to rebuild his business.