Millie was chewing on the bone sticking out of her own fractured legwhen she was confiscated from Linda Kapsa.
With the judge's signature on the plea agreement today, Linda Kapsa of Ballantine Montana is no longer "the defendant," but has officially been convicted of felony animal cruelty under Montana law.
Sentencing has not been scheduled, and likely will not be for another 6-8 weeks.
While most of the 200+ English shepherds will be able to be released for adoption or foster care in a matter of a few weeks, nineteen animals that Kapsa "chose" will remain in limbo, and in county custody, until the sentencing date.
Watch this space for later analysis of why those particular dogs were held back.*
The fate of the unknown number of free-running dogs, and their offspring, still resident at Kapsa's property is uncertain.
More when information becomes available.
*And if you ask a question and I don't answer it, it is because I can't, okay?
My god, what a horrific mental picture. That poor girl!
ReplyDeleteI was wondering what became of this girl. I'm relieved to see she's recovered, although surely some internal wounds remain.
ReplyDeleteWatching the rescue of these incredible dogs makes me wish I was located closer (like, in the same country) and could adopt one of these incredible creatures.
Herding breeds are my thing... cattle dogs in particular, but the more I learn about English Shepherds, the more smitten I become.
Keep up the great work, Heather - and all the folks at NESR!
Why would they let her ever own another dog let alone give her 20???
ReplyDeleteKim, my wife Erin informs me that the girl in the photo is named Nellie, and that she's doing fine health-wise now and is running with the other dogs being kept with her.
ReplyDeleteFYI, Erin just spent a week out in Billings along Nancy (another member of the National English Shepherd Rescue organization) helping out with taking care of the dogs as well as starting to file evaluations about their behavior for future foster placement. So thanks for your encouragement!
David - thank you for that update!
ReplyDeleteOur rescue focuses on special needs dogs, so those who non-dog people would describe as "abnormal" are my rock stars.
Tail wags for Nellie and her enduring spirit. Another great example of her breed's resilience.
Authorities let a convicted animal cruelty felon choose 19 dogs to possibly keep? This is like letting a rapist choose which dating sites he wants to retain memberships at, no?
ReplyDeleteAny news on the Pugs?
It is killing me that my family can't take one of the Montana dogs to foster.
ReplyDeleteI'd type more, but I'm going to have to go blow my nose, and dry my eyes on my dogs' fur.
Damn it.
I find it interesting that the "confiscation" and "seizure" of these dogs was all over the pet law lists and plenty of quotes from the Montana News yellow journal, but now that she has changed her plea - not a murmur that I have seen. I think it is entirely possible that there are animal control abuses happening, but this was not one of them. I just pray that the judge has the gumption to say no to any intact animals for her for the next 20 years.
ReplyDeleteActually, this lovely girl is named Millie and she went home with her handler who she adores! She recovered quickly from her operation back in Dec. and runs, jumps, climbs, like any other.
ReplyDeleteI am a new comer to your blog and I realize this is an old post...but can you tell me whatever happened to this horrible woman?
ReplyDelete