Animal cruelty case

to resume May 13
By Melanie Davis
Melanie@mountaintimes.com

A crowd of supporters gathered in the second floor lobby of the Watauga County Courthouse Tuesday morning. They were there on behalf of the 80 dogs seized from a residence at 10430 N.C. 194 North, near Todd.

Anna Mae Warner, 18, has been charged with 74 counts of animal cruelty in connection to the animals now in custody of Watauga County Animal Care and Control officers.

Warner was first charged with four counts of animal cruelty stemming from four dogs taken from the above residence on March 13, three were live and one wasdead. Four counts of animal cruelty were filed as a result.
Officers continued to monitor Warner's treatment of the multitude of dogs in her possession.

On April 10, animal control officers and deputies of the Watauga County Sheriff's Office returned to the residence with a search warrant and seized an additional 77 dogs and three dead dogs. Seventy counts of animal cruelty were filed as a result of this incident.

Initially, Warner faced two separate court dates, although now the charges have been placed on the court docket together.

Approximately 15 people showed up Tuesday morning in the courthouse, many donning Humane Society T-shirts. Two were wearing shirts that said “Animal Shelter – noun; a place where every time you breed or buy, another innocent animal dies; please adopt.”

Nancy Coffey, a longtime resident of Watauga County and a regular volunteer at the Animal Care and Control office, was present in the courtroom.

“I worked with these dogs when they first came in and hope to never see them in that position again,” she said.

Another county resident and frequent volunteer, Beth Brock, added, “It is completely unacceptable that animals were kept in these abhorrent conditions. It is ludicrous that someone would think it's OK.”

Warner's case was continued until May 18 in order to give defense attorneys the time allowed by law to review a motion set forth by the prosecution.

The motion says, “Pursuant to NCGS [general statutue] 19A-70 requesting that the defendant be ordered to deposit funds with the clerk of court in an amount sufficient to secure payment of all the reasonable expenses expected to be incurred by the animal shelter in caring for and providing for the animals taken into custody pending the deposition of these cases.”

The motion further states that the funds should be deposited on a 30-day cycle, with the order renewed at the end of each 30 days. The motion also cites the veterinary care provided to some of animals.

This motion was left in a courthouse mailbox for defense attorney Robert T. Speed last Thursday. Speed is granted time by the court to review the motion with his client and to respond.

No decision has yet been handed down. The case will resume May 13.