A Hall County jury found Denise Withee guilty of felony animal abuse just over two years ago. She was sentenced to probation, but Withee returned to court Thursday after authorities say she violated those terms.
Withee was convicted of dumping 23 dead and dying dogs in a cornfield near Grand Island back in the summer of 2008.
She was told not to own or possess any animals for five years, but authorities say they found her living with 13 dogs in Sioux City, Iowa on January 12 of this year during a probation check.
Withee's sentence caused outrage back in 2009. Local animal shelter officials say they'd never seen anything like it when they helped recover those dead dogs, and say they hope Withee gets more than probation this time.
"It seems like with these type of people that if there's no jail time or no big fines they just continually do the same things over and over again," says Laurie Dethloff, Director of the Central Nebraska Humane Society.
At Thursday's hearing Withee asked for a court appointed attorney, and told Judge William Wright she's been unemployed since 2004 and living on disability. Withee told Wright that she is "very sick," but he ordered her to remain in Hall County Jail until her next hearing. That's set for March 29 at 9:00 am.
