WE CHECKED THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE AND ALL THEY WOULD SAY IS THIS CASE IS ACTIVE AND OPEN. NEW AT 5:00, A SEMINOLE COUNTY MOM IS ACCUSE OF TAKING HER DEHYDRATED NEWBORN TO THE HOSPITAL. SHE SAYS IT'S ALL BECAUSE SHE IS A VEGAN AND DIDN'T WANT THE BABY TO HAVE ANYTHING MADE WITH ANIMAL PARTS. KALA RAMA IS LIVE AT THE CASSELBERRY POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR US. IT SEEMS THEY GOT TO THE BABY JUST IN TIME. HOW DID POLICE FIND OUT ABOUT THIS? ERIK, THIS CAME TO CASSELBERRY POLICE AS A TIP GOING INTO THE FLORIDA STATE HOTLINE THERE ON CHILD ABUSE. THEY SAY WHEN THEY WENT TO THAT HOUSE, THEY FOUND A MOTHER WHO WAS NOT COOPERATIVE AND A BABY WHO NEEDED SERIOUS MEDICAL ATTENTION. A NEWBORN BABY IS NOW IN STATE CUSTODY AFTER CASSELBERRY POLICE SAY SARAH MARKHAM REFUSED TO TAKE HER DEHYDRATED BABY TO THE HOSPITAL. SHE TOLD POLICE SHE'S A VEGAN BUT BROUGHT A SOY-BASED FORMULA FROM WHOLE FOODS FOR THE BABY INSTEAD OF FOLLOWING THE DOCTOR'S ORDERS. SHE DIDN'T WANT HER CHILD INGESTING ANY ANIMAL BY-PRODUCTS. A DOCTOR TOLD MARKHAM THE BABY WAS DEHYDRATED AND LOSING WEIGHT. SHE WAS TOLD TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL WITHIN AN HOUR. THE HOSPITAL WAS READY TO TREAT THE CHILD. WHEN SHE DIDN'T SHOW, POLICE SHOWED UP AT HER APARTMENT. OFFICERS AND CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES TRIED TO GET HER TO COME TO THE DOOR FOR AN HOUR. SHE DIDN'T THINK SHE HAD TO COME TO THE DOOR. SHE DIDN'T ANSWER THE DOOR WHEN WE CHECKED WITH HER. THEY DON'T WANT TO TALK TO ANYBODY. THAT IS MEAN. OFFICERS CALLED HER UNCOOPERATIVE AND SAID SHE WAS NOT CONCERNED WITH HER NEWBORN'S WELL-BEING. ACCORDING TO THAT POLICE REPORT, MARKHAM ALSO TOLD OFFICERS SHE WANTED A SECOND OPINION. SHE APPARENTLY GOT ONE FROM A VEGAN OR NATURAL DOCTOR AND, ACCORDING TO POLICE, SHE COULD NOT PROVIDE ANY INFORMATION ON WHO THAT DOCTOR WAS. SO WHAT IS NEXT NOW THAT SHE'S BEEN ARRESTED? IS SHE FACING ANY TIME IN ALLOR EVEN IN PRISON? BASICALLY THAT'S ALL UP TO A JUDGE. SHE GOES BEFORE A JUDGE AT THE END OF THE SUMMER, AUGUST 26TH. 
 
 CASSELBERRY, Fla. - 
 
 A Casselberry mother was arrested on allegations of refusing to take her newborn, diagnosed by a doctor as dehydrated, to a hospital because of her staunch vegan stance. 
 
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 Sarah Anne Markham was arrested Tuesday on a charge of child neglect. 
 
 According to Casselberry police, a pediatrician told Markham that her baby needed to be admitted to Florida Hospital South for treatment because the child was dehydrated and was losing weight. 
 
 Markham, however, went home and would not answer when officers knocked at her door. 
 
 Police used a locksmith to enter the apartment and interviewed Markham, who said she wanted to get a second opinion about her child, according to a police report. 
 
 
 
 Police said Markham told them that she wanted to pursue a religious-based treatment and did not believe that her baby was dehydrated because the child was having bowel movements. 
 
 Markham said she had contacted a "natural" or "vegan" doctor but was unable to provide any information about him, other than a name. 
 
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 Markham said she did not give the formula/medicine that the doctor provided because she did not agree with the ingredients, which she said came from animals, the police report stated. 
 
 Markham said she purchased organic soy formula, and when asked if she confirmed with a doctor if it was safe for a newborn, she said that if Whole Foods Market sells it then the formula doesn't contain any animal parts and, therefore, must be safe, according to police. 
 
 She then said she would take the child to Florida Hospital South but only because she was being forced to, according to authorities. About an hour later, however, she was still at home and was placed under arrest. 
 
 While en route to jail, according to police, Markham had a carefree attitude, even though she was told that she was not going to be allowed to see her child until a court hearing. 
 
 The baby was taken to Florida Hospital South for treatment and was placed into state custody. 
 
 Markham later bonded out of jail. 
 
 Watch Local 6 News and stay with ClickOrlando.com for more on this story. ||||| WFTV – Orlando, Fla. 
 
 A vegan mother whose newborn son was taken from her several months ago after he began losing weight has regained custody of the child. 
 
 On Wednesday, a Seminole County, Florida, judge told Sarah Markham that she would get custody of her son Caleb, with the provision that she provide a nutritionist's report within 10 days. 
 
 Markham was arrested in June when her son was less than 2 weeks old. He had lost 10 percent of his body weight. A doctor said Caleb was failing to thrive and told Markham to take her child to a hospital. 
 
 Rather than taking the boy to the hospital, Markham wanted to try supplementing breast milk with vegan formula. 
 
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 "There's no case, there's no abuse, there's no neglect – there's simply a doctor who has been challenged by a mother, and he didn't like it," said Bo Markham, Caleb's grandfather. 
 
 The judge agreed, throwing out Seminole County Child Protective Services' claim that Sarah Markham was not fit to care for the child. 
 
 Attorney Mark O'Mara said he expects the criminal case against the mother to be thrown out, as well. 
 
 "My hope is that they'll simply dismiss it and not go forward on this at all," O'Mara said. 
 
 Caleb stayed with grandparents after being removed from his mother's care and now weighs 17 pounds. 
 
 "He's still on a soy formula – he's been on it, he likes it, he's doing well. He's growing healthy, and I can't ask for anything more," Markham said.
– A judge in Florida has allowed a vegan mom who defied a doctor's orders to regain custody of her infant son, reports WFTV. The strange case began in June when police in Casselberry charged Sarah Markham with neglect and took away 2-week-old Caleb. The charges came after a pediatrician diagnosed Caleb as dehydrated and underweight, and told Markham to take him to the hospital immediately, recounts WKMG. Instead, Markham bought soy formula to supplement her breast milk. When she didn't show up at the hospital, police came to her house, and she told them she wanted a second doctor's opinion and stressed that she did not want her son getting formula from animal products. Today, a Seminole County judge granted her custody again with the provision that she provide a nutritionist's report in 10 days. "There's no case, there's no abuse, there's no neglect—there's simply a doctor who has been challenged by a mother, and he didn't like it," says Caleb's grandfather, Bo Markham. The child has been with his grandparents since he was taken out of his mother's care, and now weighs about 17 pounds. "He's still on a soy formula," says Bo Markham. The criminal neglect charges are still pending, though Sarah Markham's attorney—Mark O'Mara, who defended George Zimmerman—says he expects they will be dismissed now. (PETA wants an Indiana sheriff to feed an alleged cannibal a vegan diet.)