PENNSYLVANIA -- Janet Jones of the 2100 block of Overbrook Road was ordered by Montgomery County Senior Judge Albert R. Subers to pay $45,600 in restitution to the Montgomery County SPCA to cover the cost of room and board and veterinary care for the 96 cats and nine dogs that were seized by the SPCA from Jones' home on Sept. 13, 2002.
"There is no doubt in my mind the defendant is guilty as charged," Judge Subers said at the conclusion of a trial that was mandated when Jones appealed her Dec. 17 conviction of summary animal-cruelty charges by District Justice Harry Nesbitt III.
Subers said the animals will not be returned to Jones, who has 30 days to file an appeal of the verdict.
Jones, 53, and her lawyer, Kevin Sommar, refused to comment on the ruling as they left the courtroom.
"Owning an animal in society is a privilege. Janet Jones abused that privilege," said Assistant District Attorney Samantha Cauffman, who argued the cruelty occurred when Jones denied the animals access to sanitary shelter.
Officers of the SPCA testified they encountered an overwhelming odor of urine inside the home and said walls were stained with urine. Feces coated other surfaces of the house, prosecutors alleged. Some of the animals were emaciated and had respiratory infections, according to testimony.
Dead animals were discovered stored in plastic bags in Jones' freezer and refrigerator.
"The bodies in the freezer, right above where she has food, that does go to sanitariness," said Cauffman, who pleaded with the judge not to return the animals to Jones. "They deserve a better existence than what she gave them."
The carcass of another animal was discovered under an entertainment center, testimony revealed.
Cauffman argued Jones' residence is an example of why state legislators drafted animal-cruelty laws.
"If there was ever a case that the Legislature had in mind when creating the unsanitary-shelter portion of the statute, this is the case. Janet Jones' residence is what they were talking about," Cauffman said.
Sommar argued the animals were well cared for by Jones. He claimed investigators never tested substances allegedly found in the home to verify their conclusion that it was urine and feces.
"Merely because the odor may be overpowering to humans does not make the conditions unsanitary," Sommar argued to the judge. "They leaped to conclusions that any dirt they saw was feces and urine."
When Jones testified, she claimed "not a drop" of urine and feces was found on the floor of her home when the SPCA showed up on Sept. 13, 2002.
Jones testified she acquired the animals in many ways, sometimes inheriting them from friends who died. People also abandoned cats suffering from feline leukemia, leaving them on her property and she took them in, Jones said.
"I provided shelter and housing because there is no alternative for animals like that," said Jones. "Every story how I got them is different. Each one has its own little story."
Sommar asked Jones how she could tell the animals apart.
"I don't have roll call every day," Jones said. "You know who's who. They all had names and nicknames. You just get to know, they're like members of your family."
Jones testified she took very good care of her animals, giving them fresh water daily, fresh bedding, fresh food and veterinary care and had them spayed or neutered. There were heat lamps, heated water dishes and umbrellas in the "cat yard" to protect the animals from bad weather.
Jones told the judge she had special areas set aside for cats suffering from feline leukemia and a cabinet full of intravenous fluids and medicines.
"I had a stash of every kind of antibiotic there is. I was ready and prepared for whatever," Jones told the judge.
As for the dead animals in her freezer, Jones testified she kept them there until she could take them to a veterinarian to have them cremated.
"If you let them sit around they don't smell very well," said Jones, explaining why she put the carcasses in the freezer.
David B. Beeghley, the lawyer for the SPCA, said that, under the judge's order, the SPCA must continue to care for the animals until the appeal process is completed. Officials said the 105 animals have received $6,000 in veterinary care since being seized last year.
About 15 of the animals, some of which had feline leukemia and feline AIDS when they were seized, have since died, officials said.
"The concern from the very beginning was the animals and only the animals. I'm never pleased to see a situation where a person allows this kind of situation to come up," Beeghley said.
(The Reporter Online - November 15, 2003)
