Junior Horton

HILLSVILLE -- It seemed like Junior Horton was standing against the world at the Carroll County Courthouse on Friday.

Horton, owner of Horton's Pups in Hillsville, stood before a courtroom full of animal welfare advocates as he faced charges of animal cruelty and neglect stemming from a 2007 sting at his commercial dog-breeding business.

People arrived at the courthouse before noon for the 1 p.m. trial. Many wore T-shirts bearing Humane Society symbols. Two women wore shirts with the message "Don't shop. Adopt!" in a statement against people who buy puppies from the so-called puppy mills like Horton is accused of operating.

After more than three hours of testimony, General District Court Judge Edward Turner made his ruling on the 40 charges Horton faced: 14 for animal cruelty, 25 for animal neglect and one for failure to obtain a dog license.

"I find Mr. Horton guilty of all counts," Turner said. "The question is, 'What do we do with it?' "

Turner suspended 12 years of jail time for the misdemeanors and suspended much of the fines associated with the criminal charges. For the 14 counts of cruelty, he suspended $2,250 of each of the $2,500 fines. For the 25 counts of neglect, he suspended $450 of each of the $500 fines. He imposed the mandated $25 fine for the charge of failing to obtain a dog license. The total for all fines amounted to $4,750. The judge also directed the court to determine a cost of veterinary services provided when hundreds of Horton's dogs were taken from his business following the sting. He said Horton will be responsible for making restitution.

Horton also was sentenced to active probation to be shared by New River Valley Corrections and Carroll County Chief Animal Control officer Terry Woods, who testified at the trial.

"I'm not going to put him out of business yet," Turner said after making his ruling. "I don't think he's a cruel man. I am going to limit his operation to 250 dogs.

"This man is going to be carefully supervised," the judge noted after making some comments to the audience in which he said "I know that anything dealing with dogs strikes a deep emotional chord. It does with me."

In November, the Humane Society of the United States led an effort to remove nearly 1,000 dogs and puppies from Horton's Pups after a notice was posted on the organization's Web site about a five-month undercover investigation claiming to have found nearly 1,000 puppy mills in Virginia. The effort to remove the dogs was so massive, representatives of dog-adoption agencies from as far as Florida and New York drove vans to Hillsville to help. Carroll County authorities even declared a local state of emergency because of the magnitude of the operation.

All of the dogs taken from Horton's Pups were examined by veterinarians, given vaccinations and taken to various agencies for care.

Several veterinarians involved in the rescue testified Friday. Kathy Davieds -- a Floyd vet and member of the Virginia Partnership for Animal Welfare and Support, the group that uncovered the local puppy mill trade -- said that Horton's dogs did not have adequate shelter, exercise, sanitation or care. But James Adams, another veterinarian who helped with the rescue, said he did not see any clear signs of abuse on the animals he examined.

"Since the events of November," Adams said, "I have been to his place twice to look at puppies. His puppy building was extremely clean, amazingly clean."

Horton's case brought national attention to the problem of puppy mills in Virginia, which led to passage of legislation to crack down on the industry. House Bill 538 was adopted by the Virginia General Assembly in March, putting stiffer regulations on commercial dog breeders across the state.

The new law requires that those in the business breed only female dogs between the ages of 18 months and 8 years and have licensed veterinarians certify each year that the dogs are in suitable breeding health. It also stipulates that breeders maintain records of animal sales, purchases, breeding history and veterinary care and that no more than 50 adult dogs be kept at one time unless approved by a local ordinance after a public hearing.

Horton's attorney, Jim Ward, said he will appeal the conviction. In his testimony Friday, Horton said he had invested a lot of money in his dogs and that he took care of them. He did admit, however, that he had an excessive number of dogs.

"I knew I had too many dogs," he said. "I could have sold every one of them. I lost thousands of dollars on pups I could have sold at Christmas."

Those representing animal welfare groups were not happy with the outcome of Friday's trial. Nancy Luz, a member of a small group in Floyd called Kids and Kritters, said she was one of the volunteers who helped with the rescue at Horton's Pups.

"He needs to be shut down. I had hoped for more. I didn't expect more," she said.

"I think he's just in it for the money. I think they should hit him where it hurts."