An El Paso County woman with a prior conviction for animal abusewill soon face trial on new charges of underfeeding dogs at a Yoderkennel where she and her husband bred German shepherd puppies forsale.
Jennifer Hobbs-Butler, 41, was initially due to be tried thisweek, but a judge agreed to move her trial date to Dec. 8.
She faces nine counts of felony aggravated animal abuse - one foreach of the German shepherds confiscated from Denali Kennels ineastern El Paso County last December during a raid by the HumaneSociety of the Pikes Peak Region.
According to the Humane Society, one dog was malnourished to thepoint of being emaciated. Others were similarly underfed andsuffered from parasites and severe dental problems, the agency said.
In 2006, Hobbs-Butler was convicted of similar allegations whileoperating what she billed as a horse rescue in El Paso County.
In that case, she was accused of underfeeding five horses andposting their pictures online in a bid to solicit donations.
A jury found her guilty on all five counts of misdemeanor animalabuse. She was sentenced to probation and ordered never again to ownlivestock. A judge in August 2010 extended her probation for threeyears, after finding that Hobbs-Butler owned animals she hadn'tclaimed as her own, and ruled that she would be subject to randomproperty checks by the Humane Society, according to an arrestaffidavit.
A random check in December raised red flags among animal controlofficers, leading to the raid at Denali Kennels, court records show.
Her attorney, Jay Swearingen of Denver, said his client disputesthat any of the dogs were underfed or otherwise abused.
The German shepherds that were confiscated were bred for civiliandog-training exercises, and are naturally thinner than house dogs,Swearingen said.
Swearingen also blamed bias at the Humane Society, saying that ananimal control officer involved in the case, Jamie Norris, is arival German shepherd breeder in Peyton and wanted to shut down hercompetition, he said.
Reached at her home Tuesday, Norris said her business,Kriegerhund Shepherds, specializes in nursing rescued dogs back tohealth and putting them up for adoption. She said she only raisedone litter of 10 pups and has no plans for further breeding.
'If they want to try to argue that, they can knock themselvesout,' she said, calling the argument a ploy to take the focus offthe defendant.
Three of the dogs required extensive dental work worth $2,000 to$3,000 each, said Joe Stafford, director of animal services at theHumane Society. Donations paid for the procedures.
The agency is still caring for five of the animals that wereseized. Four others were adopted out to other families before ajudge issued an order that they be kept pending the outcome of thetrial, Stafford said.
If Hobbs-Butler is found guilty, the Humane Society said it willseek restitution for the medical expenses as well as the cost tofeed and board the animals - $600 a month for each dog.
Her husband, Robert Butler, faces nine misdemeanor counts ofanimal abuse. Under Colorado law, anyone with a misdemeanorconviction of animal abuse is charged with a felony for subsequentoffenses.
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