# Guilty guilty guilty



## McSandd (Apr 30, 2010)

guilty on 12 counts? What do you think they will get for a sentence?


----------



## Dogsinstyle (Sep 6, 2009)

I think she is just getting tiny fines. I am just glad the dogs are in a better place, and she cannot get any new ones )for a while...)
Carole


----------



## Harley_chik (Nov 7, 2008)

Are these felonies or misdemeanors? Can she still own dogs in two short years? Will AKC and UKC now suspend her for good?


----------



## Dogsinstyle (Sep 6, 2009)

I'm waiting for further updates......
Carole


----------



## ArreauStandardPoodle (Sep 1, 2009)

Ahhhhh...thank GOD!!!!


----------



## roxy25 (Dec 18, 2008)

Yes thank god ! Please keep us updated I really want to know the answers to HC questions also !


----------



## Harley_chik (Nov 7, 2008)

I forgot to thankyou for the info.


----------



## HiSocietyPoodle (May 2, 2010)

*Guilty guilty guilty!!!*

*Dogsinstyle *-- WOW! It must have been really bad to have all those counts.

Can you tell us a bit about this case? What did they do? Was it in the news? Tell us more about it. Just wondering...


----------



## Harley_chik (Nov 7, 2008)

http://www.poodleforum.com/5-poodle-talk/7034-re-whispering-pines-poodles.html

http://www.poodleforum.com/5-poodle-talk/6872-not-weak-stomach.html


----------



## spoospirit (Mar 10, 2009)

_Been waiting for this one! Thanks. 

If it were me, I know that all of the wind would have gone out of me on the guilty charges. But, I suppose this wasn't the case for the guilty.

I was hoping for a much harsher punishment than small fines. It really saddens me. I do not understand why someone with these type of charges and found guilty could be allowed to own another ANYTHING again in their life. Hoarding is an illness that doesn't just go away.

But, as it has been said already, at least all of those poor animals have been given a second chance at a good life.

Will be looking forward to the updates.
_


----------



## BFF (Jun 10, 2009)

It is nice to get updates and get the story as it progresses. 

Rather than fines, I would like to see her getting treatment, perhaps even required to spend some time under constant care in an institution. My guess is that she is still in denial that she even has a problem and will own more animals soon.


----------



## Dogsinstyle (Sep 6, 2009)

Sentence suspended in cruelty conviction 
BY ALEXANDRA BOGDANOVIC 

Times-Democrat Staff Writer 
Katharine Rene Dokken pleaded “no contest” Monday to 12 counts of animal cruelty by deprivation in General District Court. 

The charges stemmed from alleged mistreatment of 34 poodles. 

Dokken, who lives on Conde Road near Marshall, entered the plea as part of an agreement with prosecutors. 

In return, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Angela Catlett recommended Dokken be sentenced to one year in jail on each count, or 12 years. Catlett also suggested that Judge Thomas Underwood suspend the entire term and put Dokken on supervised probation for two years, contingent on specific conditions. 

Underwood imposed the sentence during a brief hearing. 

Dokken must now: 

• Participate in “any and all counseling as recommended by her probation officer, specifically mental health counseling”; 

• Participate in and complete animal-care education classes; 

• Be of “general good behavior” and obey all laws while on probation; and, 

• Pay court costs. 

“Should the defendant comply with all conditions of her probation, the Commonwealth shall not oppose her motion to reinstate her ability to own or possess companion animals,” Catlett said in the plea agreement. 

By entering the plea, Dokken avoided prosecution on 22 additional counts of animal cruelty and “numerous county license violations.” 



A phone call from a concerned citizen prompted law enforcement authorities to investigate conditions at Dokken’s residence last month. They confiscated 26 adult poodles and eight puppies based on their findings. 

Humane Investigator Hilleary Bogley said she and Master Deputy Sheriff Lane Phillippe found most of the dogs confined in airline crates. Many were in filthy conditions, some were covered in their own feces. 

Authorities took the dogs to the Fauquier SPCA and Middleburg Humane Foundation. 

During her first court appearance, Dokken agreed not to try and reclaim the animals. The dogs at both facilities then became available for adoption. 

All of the poodles taken to the Fauquier SPCA have been adopted. Several at the Middleburg Humane foundation have already been claimed, but six still need homes. 

Times-Democrat Staff Photo/Alexandra Bogdanovic


----------



## neVar (Dec 25, 2009)

reality is she won't get time- abusers rarely do- (except when it's a head hauncho in a dog fighting ring to set an example) because when lined up against rapists. and sexual predators, and murderers.... their crime isn't on the same level or give the same threat to the PEOPLE of the area.  

excellent news that most have been adopted!


----------



## Harley_chik (Nov 7, 2008)

“Should the defendant comply with all conditions of her probation, the Commonwealth shall not oppose her motion to reinstate her ability to own or possess companion animals,” Catlett said in the plea agreement. 

That is an incredibly misguided decision. She should've had to have pled guilty, not "no contest." "No contest" just mean she doesn't think she can win, not that she admits guilt. That's the worst thing about all of this; she doesn't think she did anything wrong. She "was set up by Animal Rights fanatics and the pictures were staged.":bird:


----------



## spoospirit (Mar 10, 2009)

_Saddened by the deal made but overjoyed that most of the poodles have found homes! Although I feel that she got away with a serious crime, I believe it is we who need to do something about changing the law(s) to reflect a more suitable culpability for such heinous crimes. 

I cannot quite compare the life of an animal to the life of a child; but, they are certainly more worthy of better treatment in a court of law than what they are allowed these days. These are living creatures whose whole existence is in the hands or their people as is a child's. There should be better accountability here.

I fully agree with mandatory treatment for mental illness as I fully agree with the fact that hoarding is an illness. I have seen it first hand. However, allowing a hoarder to eventually own an animal again is misguided. I have seen where that went first hand too. They make promises to themselves and others that they will only have their one or two pets and eventually new ones begin to show up. Their answer to that is that they can handle it and they aren't going to do what they did before. But, they do and are in complete denial that they are at that place again. And, so goes the cycle!_


----------



## HiSocietyPoodle (May 2, 2010)

Dogsinstyle -- Thank you for posting that article. Now I get the story. I had no idea what had really happened. I read the posting on this tread but was at a loss without seeing pix and etc., of what actually happened. 

34 Poodles?! Oh, God! 

Sad to say, she'll be back at it again.


----------

