Animal shelter owner convicted

A woman accused of neglecting more than 100 dogs and cats at a so-called rescue shelter has been convicted of 27 counts of animal cruelty.

Judge Peter W. Steketee found 44-year-old Sandra Cortes, the owner of Assisi's Animal Rescue near Manassas Park, guilty following a two-day, non-jury trial this week. Her sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 8. She has a trial next month in Fairfax County on similar charges.

The live-in caretaker at the shelter, 30-year-old Brenda Dodson, pleaded guilty to 27 counts of animal cruelty and was sentenced to 18 months in jail and 20 years of supervised probation, with the condition that she not have contact with animals.

Dodson also pleaded guilty this week to one count of grand larceny and one count of animal cruelty in Fairfax County Circuit Court and will be sentenced Nov. 14.

Dodson cooperated with prosecutors in Prince William, testifying against Cortes during her two-day, non-jury trial in Prince William District Court and leading them to the burial site of a missing dog that belonged to a Iraqi war vet who was being treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center at the time, said Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Sandy Sylvester. "That was paramount to us that we give him closure on that case," Sylvester said.

Authorities began investigating the animal shelter she ran with another woman in the Manassas Park area over the summer after a teenager and her mother who adopted a puppy from the so-called rescue filed a complaint with Prince William County police.

More than 100 animals living in what police described as squalid conditions were seized during a raid in May.

When the women were arraigned on the Prince William charges, the judge ordered them not to keep any animals in their custody. But in July, Fairfax County police found six dogs also living in squalid conditions that were connected to both women.

Fairfax police officers went to a vacant house on Vale Street in the Alexandria area after its owner filed a complaint.

They found the dogs inside with no food or water and the floors covered in animal urine and feces, according to police. There was no air conditioning or ventilation.

Several of the owners told police at the time that they had posted notices on Craigslist in search of temporary pet care and others said they were looking for homes for dogs they could no longer keep, authorities said.

Cortes and Dodson allegedly responded to the advertisements and took the dogs into their possession using the name of Assisi's Animal Rescue Organization, Fairfax police said.

Their investigation revealed that a puppy named Patches was missing.

Sylvester said a friend of the veteran had placed it, along with its mother, with Assisi's for temporary care in June and that Cortes and Dodson moved the dog to the vacant house in July. Patches' mother was rescued from the house, Sylvester said.

Sgt. Lorie Carter of Prince William Animal Control said 54 dogs and 12 cats were adopted to new homes after being treated at the county animal shelter. Twenty-four of the dogs had to be euthanized due to illness and 13 dogs because of aggression.

Carter said the dogs "thought they were at the Hilton" when they arrived at the shelter, where they were bathed and fed, given clean blankets and cages and treated with kindness. "They were all really good dogs," she said.

Staff writer Elisa Glushefski can be reached at 703-878-8062.