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ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- The woman accused of hoarding almost 30 animals in what humane officials described as "deplorable conditions" entered a plea in court Tuesday.
Cheryl Howells Goodwin, 71, of 70419 Provident-Fairpoint Road, St. Clairsville pleaded no contest to five counts of animal neglect.
Belmont County Western Division Judge Eric Costine imposed five years of probation.
Howells Goodwin was sentenced to 60 days in jail on each count, to be served concurrently, that Costine suspended.
Costine also ordered counseling.
Belmont County Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Vavra said the sentence was an appropriate one.
"Largely this was not a malicious act by this individual. Mental health played a role in the situation, and it got to a point where she was overwhelmed and could not care for the amount of animals she had. We don't believe there was an intent to harm any of these animals," he said.
Julie Larish, humane agent with Belmont County Hoof & Paw which has taken on the animals' care, spoke about the case.
"She forfeited all but one dog," Larish said. "Hoof & Paw will be going in and monitoring the one dog for the next five years. She's allowed to keep the one dog, but she's not allowed to have, own, possess any other companion animals except the one dog.
"In an animal hoarding case, a lot of times you're dealing with mental health issues and other issues, and this was the one dog that was actually very well taken care of and groomed in the house. I think all parties were in agreement that having the one dog is more of an emotional support for her, and with the counseling combined with Hoof & Paw going in to monitor to make sure there's no other dogs or no other conditions ... it's more of a road of recovery for her."
Howells Goodwin was also ordered to pay restitution of $9,000 to Hoof & Paw. Larish said 100 percent of the restitution will go to the veterinary bills for the animals.
"That won't even cover all the vet bills. That only covers a portion of the vet bills," she said. "We spent over $12,000 on vet bills, and we are only recouping $9,000."
Larish said the volunteers must now take on the task of placing the animals in new homes. She said 27 dogs will be up for adoption and three cats.
"We are starting to go through the application process. We will be reviewing all the applications that have come in so far for any dogs, not just her dogs," she said. "They're making a pretty good recovery. A lot of them have gained quite a bit of weight. We've got a lot of issues with dogs with diarrhea and things like that. They're making a good recovery, and on top of that a lot of them will need to be fixed before they go out, or they will have to make an agreement to get them fixed while they're in their care, so hopefully we can get them all in good homes the next couple months."
She said the group is currently keeping 45 dogs.
"With the ones that are leaving, hopefully we can get our numbers down again," she said.
Larish added that anyone who wants to put an application in to adopt a dog or make a donation can reach Hoof & Paw on Facebook or call her at 610-314-5203.
"Anything that is donated is appreciated," she added.