A Springfield Township, Bucks County woman is facing aggravated animal cruelty and neglect charges for allegedly failing to provide veterinary care for an eleven-year-old thoroughbred horse named Brazilliant.
According to the Bucks County SPCA, the arrest of Heather M. Fitzgerald, 54, earlier this month followed “multiple…reports of poor conditions at (her) property” which were investigated by BCSPCA Humane Law Enforcement officers as well as a 2025 court order requiring her to rehome all of her animals within six months, with which she allegedly failed to comply. A May 7 news release published on the animal welfare organization’s Facebook page said Fitzgerald has been “repeatedly cited for alowing her dogs to run loose” and that one of her dogs allegedly killed a neighbor’s cat last year, prior to her alleged neglect of the horse.
The BCSPA said Brazilliant “suffered painful conditions from untreated cancer that had spread throughout his body,” which was discovered in mid April. They added that the cancer left him “in such poor condition that equine veterinary specialists determined that immediate euthanasia was the most humane outcome to end Brazilliant’s pain.”
The organization said its officers became aware of Brazilliant’s plight after Fitzgerald emailed them about an eye injury she was trying to treat on her own…