T-L Photos/ROBERT DEFRANK Shania Wells is sentenced Friday to one year in prison and is banned for life from owning or being near animals after repeated instances of animal cruelty, leading to deaths.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Shania Wells will serve one year in prison for cruelty to animals and is barred from ever again owning or being around an animal.

Wells, 24, of 59615 Chestnut Level Road, Belmont, is serving a jail sentence until 2021 for repeated incidents of cruelty to animals. She heard her sentence on an additional charge Friday, when she appeared before Belmont County Common Pleas Judge Frank Fregiato. Earlier this month, Wells pleaded guilty to one count of fifth-degree felony cruelty to animals by neglect.

Her one-year sentence will begin after she has served a jail sentence for past incidents. Her jail sentence will end in 2021.

She had been sentenced in May 2019 to 90 days in jail, part of a suspended sentence in Belmont County Western Division Court for multiple counts of cruelty to animals. This occurred after she pleaded no contest to 10 counts of cruelty to animals. An investigation on the Wells’ property in 2018 found several dead and mistreated animals.

In January, 2020, the humane organization Belmont Hoof & Paw executed a search warrant on the property and found two dead calves, one dead dog and one dog suffering serious neglect, the source of the felony-level charge. Wells admitted to violating her probation by being near animals and was sent to jail.

Shania Wells’ mother, Kellie Wells, pleaded guilty to the same offenses and was sentenced to two years in prison.

Wells faced similar charges in 2017. At that time, she was allowed to complete a diversion program and have the charges dismissed.

During sentencing, Wells said she was sorry for what had happened.

Fregiato expressed a grim view of the case and read aloud graphic statements from the humane society about the state of the animals and residence.

“The brown dog was physically thin, with ribs showing and hip-bones protruding,” Fregiato said. “There was cloudy water in the dogs’ bowl, with a thin layer of ice. There was no food to be seen. … We found debris, dog feces, urine, garbage, clothing and parts of furniture destroyed all over the house. … In the doorway of the second room was a deceased, emaciated mastiff dog on a pile of clothing.”

“There are remnants of an animal without hooves. The body was so decomposed it was hard to identify what kind of animal it was,” Fregiato said, adding the veterinary report on the surviving dogs indicated starvation, lyme disease and flea and worm infestation.

“(The veterinarian) stated the deceased mastiff, Fuzzy, more likely died of starvation,” Fregiato said.

Julie Larish, founder of the humane organization, also submitted a statement.

“Based upon the history of repeated animal abuse, the lack of remorse and the horrific suffering of the animals, I feel Shania should face her maximum sentencing. Shania has a blatant disregard for the law and the court system. They call this place ‘the farm of death,'” Fregiato read.

He made a point to bar Wells both from owning animals and from having them in her presence.

“She cannot then say, ‘Hey, it was my mother, it was someone else who had those animals here,'” Fregiato said.

“This court views these offenses as being an offense against the entire community,” Fregiato said.

Fregiato also added he suspected addiction and/or mental health issues and ordered an evaluation for counseling.

Afterward, Larish said the surviving animals are doing well.

“I’m happy about that. The sad part is there’s really no justice here in a sense because we still have dead animals, but this is justice for Fuzzy,” Larish said. “That was a beloved animal that she just totally destroyed.”

She added the lifetime ban was the most important point to come from this hearing.

“Once she gets out, it doesn’t matter where she goes, she can’t be around animals.”

The Hoof and Paw organization was started in large part in response to this case. Larish said they continue to work on other cases, though none as severe as the Wells matter.

“As winter approaches, we’re going to be seeing a lot more issues with the larger animals,” she said.