The owner of Southern Dogs Rescue in Auburn was sentenced the morning of Friday, Feb. 13, after she was found guilty of five counts of second-degree cruelty to animals.
Deanalyn Reing was sentenced to two years of supervised probation. She also cannot house more than 25 dogs in her Coosa County shelter without checking with her probation officer.
In addition, Lee County Judge Chris Hughes ordered Reing to take an online class on the welfare and behavior of animals.
Reing was charged with the animal cruelty in December 2013.
Homer "Buddy" Bruce treated six of the dogs at his veterinary practice in Opelika.
"They appeared (to have been) left without proper care for a long period of time," Bruce said.
Lee County Animal Control contacted Bruce about the case.
Bruce said that when he first saw the dogs they weighed approximately half of what they were supposed to weigh.
One of the dogs died shortly after arriving because it did not respond to the treatment, according to Bruce.
Four of the dogs had to be put to sleep because they were acting too violently toward other dogs in order to get food. One of Bruce's staff members is keeping the sixth dog.
"This is a situation where I really do believe that the defendant just got in over her head with the number of animals she was keeping," said Assistant District Attorney Gentry Jackson.
Jackson said she is pleased with the results of the sentencing.
"Overall I was hoping that (Reing) would understand that these animals deserved better," Jackson said.
Jackson said she thanks the people from the community who helped with the case.
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