JAN FALSTAD Of The Gazette Staff | Posted: Thursday, July 9, 2009 10:15 am
Days before her trial was scheduled to begin, Linda Kapsa pleaded no contest Thursday to one felony count of aggravated animal cruelty for hoarding dogs and other animals at her Ballantine home.
Appearing before District Court Judge Susan Watters, Kapsa accepted a plea agreement that limits her to owning six neutered companion dogs and imposes a maximum 20-year suspended sentence supervised by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. Watters will set the final conditions during a sentencing hearing, after the Department of Corrections conducts a pre-sentence investigation, which usually takes six to eight weeks. A sentencing date has not been set.
Kapsa was charged with neglecting more than 200 dogs, 27 chickens, 10 cockatiels and three cats by not providing adequate medical care, food or shelter. Remains of two dozen other dogs were removed from Kapsa's Shady Lane Kennels, at 2315 S. 14th Road in Ballantine, during raids on Dec. 11 and Dec. 30.
Under the negotiated plea, Kapsa agreed to surrender the estimated 20 dogs and puppies she now keeps at her 10-acre property. The animals escaped seizure in December and have been breeding.
The plea deal limits Kapsa to a maximum of 40 chickens, 20 goats, eight horses, three neutered cats and two cockatiels. She also agreed to allow state officials to visit her property without obtaining a search warrant or giving notice. However, under the agreement, Kapsa's attorneys can still ask Watters to allow her keep up to 20 non-neutered dogs. Yellowstone County Attorney Dennis Paxinos said once Watters sets the limits on animals, if Kapsa breaks those rules over the next 20 years, she could go to prison.
"We were hoping we could stop the breeding. We have given her some companion dogs, and we are giving the other dogs happier homes to go to and we are stopping the taxpayers from having to fund this," Paxinos said.
In December, county officials seized 189 dogs from Kapsa. About 100 regular volunteers are helping to care for the mostly English shepherd dogs at the MetraPark fairgrounds. "With the ones that are born in our custody, I believe we now have 227 dogs, three cats, 10 cockatiels and 11 chickens," said Yellowstone County Animal Control Officer John Fleming.
Because the dogs were evidence in Kapsa's court case, no animals could be adopted. The bills mounted quickly. Since January, the cost of caring for the animals has topped $157,433, according to the county. That has been offset by at least $43,331 in cash donations, along with donations of food and other supplies.
In addition, other Yellowstone County animal complaints have been getting less attention this year because one of the county's two animal control officers has had to work full time on the Kapsa dogs. "Now we can get back on the streets and serve the public at 100 percent," Fleming said
Kapsa was charged with two felony counts of animal cruelty and four related misdemeanors. She agreed to plead no contest on one felony count. The other charges will be dismissed.
Last month, Watters heard two days of testimony about whether Kapsa was mentally incompetent to stand trial, as her attorneys argued. Billings forensic psychologist Dr. Michael Butz, testifying for Kapsa, said Kapsa believes she has some "special mystical powers" and a "special trust" with her animals.
On Wednesday, Watters ruled that Kapsa was competent to stand trial, and that ruling allowed Kapsa to change her plea. During Thursday's hearing, Deputy Yellowstone County Attorney Ingrid Rosenquist read a lengthy summary of the evidence that would have been presented at Kapsa's trial.
Witnesses would have testified that Kapsa's trailer home was covered with feces and a dead dog was next to her bed. There also would have been testimony that there was inadequate food, water or shelter for the animals and that 50 of the seized 200 dogs needed immediate veterinary care. Many of the English shepherds were starving, covered with feces and infected with lice, she said.
Dave Pauli, the Western regional director for the Humane Society, would have testified that Kapsa's dogs amounted to "a small, feral colony of unsocialized animals" and that taking care of them would be a full-time job for 14 people. "As hungry as the dogs were, they were too scared to take food out of the hands of humans," Rosenquist said. After months of care and training, they now look like different dogs, she said, but many of them will regress unless they are with their regular handler.
Under Montana law, the maximum sentence for felony aggravated animal cruelty is two years in prison. However, because Kapsa was convicted on a felony bad-check charge within the past five years, the county attorney's office argued that she was a persistent felony offender. That cleared the way for the county attorney's office to ask Watters to impose a 20-year suspended sentence supervised by the Department of Public Health.
After the hearing, Rosenquist said she was pleased. It's a relief for everyone, including the animals," she said.
The agreement also requires Kapsa to pay an undetermined amount of restitution. Her ability to pay will be part of the pre-sentence investigation.
Kapsa will get to choose the dogs she wants to keep. After Kapsa, the volunteers will get the next choice of the animals they have cared for since January. It could be several weeks before all the remaining dogs and other animals can be released for adoption.
Young animals probably will be adopted first because they generally aren't neutered before four to six months and can be released earlier, Fleming said. A major spay-and-neutering clinic must be scheduled for the adult animals before they can be adopted.
Paxinos urged state leaders to change the laws so that no other community has to suffer through a similar ordeal. Negotiations over the plea agreement started last winter, and the Kapsa case has been the workload equivalent of a major homicide case for his office, he said.
The state's animal cruelty laws were written to protect the ranching community, said Paxinos, who noted that no one anticipated this level of domestic animal hoarding. The situations need separate sets of laws, he said.
"You shouldn't be allowed to have massive amounts of animals with no feeding systems or ways of cleaning up after them," he said.
Contact Jan Falstad at jfalstad@billingsgazette.com or 657-1306.
Source: http://www.billingsgazette.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_6816690e-6ca4-11de-a613-001cc4c002e0.html
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The nearly 300 dogs seized from Ballantine breeder are now living in 17 states - 1 year later, Kapsa dogs doing well
KAHRIN DEINES Of the Gazette Staff
Posted: Saturday, December 26, 2009 12:00 am | No Comments Posted
When Barb Fazio first met Cheyenne, an English shepherd removed from Linda Kapsa’s Shady Lane Kennels along with close to 200 other dogs last December, the dog spent most of her time standing with her nose pressed tightly into a corner of her stall. “It took me three months to get her to go outside,” said Fazio, one of the volunteers who helped authorities care for the animals.
The now 2-year-old Cheyenne went home with Fazio in August. Though she still often seeks to hide behind her new caretaker’s legs when others are present, she has come a long way since finding a real home. On a recent walk with Fazio, every now and then her tail would sway from side to side, and she even let strangers pet beneath her chin. “You’d lift your hand up and it used to be she took off,” Fazio said.
It’s been a year since nearly 300 dogs and other animals were taken from the Ballantine breeder’s property, where they lived in reportedly horrific conditions. Along with the live dogs, authorities removed at least two dozen dead dogs, including puppies.
In July, Kapsa pleaded no contest to a felony charge of aggravated animal cruelty for her treatment of the dogs. Under the plea agreement, Kapsa received a 20-year suspended sentence and was required to give up all but three altered dogs.
Today, the shepherds that were seized have new homes in more than 17 states. Some, like Cheyenne, are still settling into life as domestic family pets after spending as many as eight months in legal limbo living in stalls at MetraPark and the old Moore Lane animal clinic. “They don’t know about TVs or the fridge opening or the furnace going on in the night,” Fazio said.
An army of volunteers worked with the dogs while they were held as evidence by Yellowstone County. Many of the dogs went home with these handlers, while others were placed with people all over the country, in some cases joining families on farms and ranches where their natural talents for herding could be put to use.
“(Justice) was sent to us because he had that natural drive to work,” said Michael Bates, who raises goats in Missouri. “When the trainers were evaluating him out there he was trying to herd them.” A pup of two months when he was rescued, Justice had fewer hurdles to overcome than many of the older dogs living on Kapsa’s 10-acre property. He was skittish for a long time, and his affection was not easy to win. But he has flourished as both a companion and working dog.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better dog if we had him built from scratch,” Bates said. “He’s dedicated when he’s out there working, but he’s just as comfortable inside, curling up next to me.”
About one third of the shepherds were placed in homes where they serve as working dogs, said Kathi Tesarz, president of the National English Shepherd Rescue, which the county asked to manage the adoption process. Another 65 were sent to foster families who could give them the extra attention they need to be ready for adoption; about 40 of these are still being fostered. “It was the dogs that were in the survival mode out there for months, years, that have the worst trauma,” Tesarz said.
One of those dogs, formerly called Max but renamed Barry White, now lives on 26 acres in Pennsylvania with Heather Houlahan, a professional dog trainer and training coordinator for the rescue organization. “He was the one with a necklace of (feces) and muddied pendants around his ruff that probably weighed as much as he did, and he was terrified,” Houlahan said.
Barry White, most likely 5 or 6 years old, arrived at Houlahan’s in September on the “barking bus,” a school bus NESR outfitted to carry dogs to their new homes across the country. “When he got here, if I picked up any object larger than a paperback book he skedaddled,” Houlahan said.
Now, Barry White follows her around her small farm and helps keep the livestock in line. He spends at least three hours inside her home every evening, and when the temperatures are low he has been willing to spend the night. Petting, though, continues to frighten him. “He has not learned that a human touch is a good thing,” Houlahan said. “He will submit to it, but he will not ask for it. And when you reach for him, he will shrink away.” Houlahan said she will consider Barry White ready for adoption when he can more easily accept being touched.
Another dog Houlahan is fostering, Cole, came with a different set of problems. He was only about 4 weeks old at the time of the seizure, so he did not have the same mistrust for people as the older dogs. Yet, fighting for resources at Kapsa’s kennel and later at Moore Lane, had made him aggressive towards other dogs. In Pennsylvania, Cole has made so much progress that Houlahan, who is the canine director for the Allegheny Mountain Rescue Group, expects him to one day serve as a search and rescue dog.
“It is my hope to get him placed in a home with an experienced handler who deserves a dog this good,” Houlahan said. “In my opinion, there’s the genetic lottery and he won the Powerball.”
Breaking the dogs of their bad habits and timidity has been challenging, especially for those who are not professional dog trainers. But many have found support through an online group the National English Shepherd Rescue started where those with former Kapsa dogs can share advice. “It’s been really a key element in making this a success,” Tesarz said. “Many of these dogs had behaviors that people hadn’t worked with before and just the knowledge that you’re not alone can help.”
Still, despite the challenges, those who have adopted the dogs praised their intelligence and their resilience. “She’s totally exceeded my expectations. Once these dogs got into homes, they just blossomed,” said Rachael Roper, a volunteer who brought home a 2-year-old dog named Shy, who is now called Skye. “It’s just a time thing,” she said. “That’s probably the biggest thing, just patience and time.”
Contact Kahrin Deines at kdeines@billingsgazette.com or 657-1392.
Source: http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/article_6bd1d500-f1e3-11de-8d4a-001cc4c002e0.html
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SECTION (6) LINDA KAPSA, OWNER OF SHADY LANE KENNELS, SPEAKS OUT ABOUT YELLOWTSONE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPT VIOLENT RAID AND SEIZURE OF ANIMALS
by MONTANA NEWS ASSOCIATION
by MONTANA NEWS ASSOCIATION
SECTION (6) LINDA KAPSA, OWNER OF SHADY LANE KENNELS, SPEAKS OUT ABOUT YELLOWSTONE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPT VIOLENT RAID AND SEIZURE OF ANIMALS
Editor's Note: There are (6) sections to this story. You are now watching section (6).
Stayed tuned as the Montana News exposes photos of what Linda Kapsa says was a blood bath and was done by those who were conducting the raid.
Here is a link to section (1) http://www.montanasnews.tv/articles.php?mode=view&id=13665
Here is a link to section (2) http://www.montanasnews.tv/articles.php?mode=view&id=13690
Here is a link to section (4) http://www.montanasnews.tv/articles.php?mode=view&id=13700
Here is a link to section (5) http://www.montanasnews.tv/articles.php?mode=view&id=13711
(photo courtesy of Kevin Pieper, the Baxter Bulletin)
