This is a story about animals and cruelty, but — spoiler alert — it has a happy ending.

The story began when a local ASPCA officer came to the Woodward Township Board of Supervisors, several months ago, seeking assistance, township Supervisor Jeff Stroehmann said.

“Shawn McMonigle, the humane officer, came to the township and said he had a problem. He had a complaint, and they’ve been working on a situation,” Stroehmann, who serves as the board chairman, said. “He asked if the (we) had any ordinances…(regarding to) animals, because there was a case of three horses being neglected.”

This was one of the blighted properties that the township leadership had an interest in seeing corrected for the betterment of the community.

“At one point, Sean did a welfare check, and I went along with him, (along with) the veterinarian, Amanda Paulhamus…and there were three horses; a stallion and two mares,” an older and younger one, Stroehmann said.

He said that three animals “were under a roof in an area that was 20-by-20-feet. Part of the building was blown down and there were sharp edges. Those animals had nowhere to get out of the wind and it was the coldest day of the year.”

He added there were no stalls for each horse and they were open to the elements.

Stroehmann said that the constant wind led to the older female dying “from exposure.”

“It was because of the winds, the older female horse died,” Stroehmann said.

Stroehmann explained the horses also faced several layers of manure, and their hooves were elongated and it had been up to Paulhamus to cut them back.

The township pursued legal action, during which “the stallion got out of his pen and he had been running wild through Woodward Township and Linden. He was running all over the countryside, eating crops,” Stroehmann said.

The final resolution was for the owner to surrender the animals. By November, the horses were to be trapped and given homes.

Stroehmann asked a friend named Troop Miller and his family for assistance.

They were able to capture the stallion and he was given the name Dick. Now, Dick the stallion is on a horse farm.

As for the surviving younger female horse, she was in serious trouble. Since she had been starving, her ribs could be seen, as well as her hip joints under the skin.

“Euthanization was not off the table with her,” Stroehmann said. He said that when Paulhamus examined her, she was in “such bad shape.”

“(The vet) was honest and told the judge, most horses that (she sees) in this case get euthanized because it’s too difficult to treat a wild horse.”

But Stroehmann and his wife, Kim, decided to give it a try. He had a barn that was once used for horses and he cleaned it out very quickly.

“We named her Grace,” Stroehmann said.

Within the first two weeks, they were able to put “a little bit of weight on her. She’s getting three meals a day.” She also has her own stall that is surrounded by four walls and “nice, fresh bedding.”

Stroehmann said his wife Kim is outside with her several times a day brushing her and working with her.

At first Grace was distrustful of men, but Stroehmann said that by January, she had become used to him and was doing well.

Grace shares the Stroehmanns’ property with a puppy named Bimini, a white dog with a mixed background who also has a tragic origin.

Stroehmann explained they were on a cruise that stopped on Bimini Island.

“We were walking and this animal rescue lady was walking these two dogs, and here’s this skinny half-chewed-up” dog, Stroehmann said. “He was a bait dog.”

He explained that bait dogs are used to rile up the attack dogs in a dog fighting pit and Bimini was badly abused.

“(The animal rescue woman) said the dog had been next to a hole that was dug, tied to a rope that was tied to a bush and the people were waiting for it to die,” Stroehmann said. “But it was rescued. She then asked us, ‘Do you want this dog?'”

When they got back to the boat, he and his wife looked up the website information. Within the next few weeks, the dog was brought to Miami where it was tested and medically treated.

“Then another animal rescue group was transporting rescued grayhounds from Miami to Pittsburgh,” he said. “We went out and picked him up.’ The vet did a whole body check up on him when we got him and confirmed every bone in his body’s been broken and his ears are all mangled up and he’s got scars all over him,” Stroehmann said.

However, Bimini’s spirit cuts through the tragedy.

“He is the happiest, go-lucky dog I’ve ever seen,” Stroehmann said.

He did say Bimini has food issues. The dog has been known to take treats, walk around Grace’s barn, dig a hole, drop the treat and then cover it back up. He will then come back wagging his tail.

“But he’s still so happy,” Stroehmann said.

As is Grace.