The $4,600 figure against Charles and Diane O'Malley is a fraction of the $27,000 fee that had been requested by prosecutors.
"We don't object to the court ruling," Polk County sheriff's spokesman Scott Wilder said. "We're going to continue with our civil case with the O'Malleys and ask for the full costs there."
A civil suit against the couple was placed on hold until the resolution of the criminal case, Wilder said.
In May 2010, deputies seized 261 dogs from the O'Malleys' home and accused them of keeping the animals in deplorable conditions, reports said. The couple, who originally faced 261 charges in the case, operated a dog rescue at their home.
The charges eventually were reduced and a jury found the O'Malleys guilty last month on misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty relating to eight dogs. They were sentenced to a year of probation.
The O'Malleys' lawyer, Mitchell Ladner, has insisted that although his clients' home was dirty, the dogs were receiving care, plenty of water, food, shade and exercise.
Ladner has argued the investigative costs were inflated because they relate to the seizure of all 261 dogs and do not reflect the costs associated with the eight dogs that the O'Malleys were found guilty of treating cruelly.
"Clearly the investigative hours and other charges reflected in the affidavit, with the exception of the veterinarian charges of $600, pertain to all 261 dogs that were part of the original investigation," Bennett wrote in his order.
"However, this court only has discretion to assess costs of prosecution (and investigation) associated with the crimes for which the defendants received a determination of guilt. In this case at bar, we are speaking of only eight dogs."
In the civil case, the Sheriff's Office will ask for more than $63,000 in incurred costs, Wilder said.
"We are seeking full costs for the care of the animals, including veterinarian costs, impound fees, boarding fees and medical costs for the 26 animals — minus whatever medical, veterinarian and impound fees the criminal court assessed on the eight dogs they were convicted of committing animal cruelty upon," he said.
A court date for that case hasn't been set.
(The Ledger - February 24, 2013)
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