Investigators said a search warrant was obtained last May to gain entry to the house, from which 125 puppies and dogs were removed. Two dogs were found deceased, investigators said.
Solomon gave up rights to 122 of the puppies and dogs, which were adopted. Three of the dogs were identified as family pets and were kept at the county Animal Shelter while the case was pending. Judge Gary Nasal said Tuesday the dogs could be released to Solomon.
Nasal said she tended to blame others for the situation.
“Stop it. It is your fault,” the judge said. “It was not out of your hands. It was always in your hands.”
Solomon said before sentencing that she did her best and sought veterinary care for the dogs, but things got out of control. She said she didn’t want to take dogs to the shelter because of concerns about euthanasia.
“It got to be too many … I tried to do my best. I never ever had the intention to hurt anyone,” Solomon said. “I didn’t know what to do … The dogs just accumulated and accumulated.”
Defense lawyer Jose Lopez pointed out that the dogs were adopted by the shelter within 72 hours, a sign the dogs seized were in good health. The number of dogs got “beyond her capacity to handle,” he said.
Prosecutors had agreed at the time of Solomon’s plea to remain silent during the sentencing.
Nasal said the case was “incredibly difficult.”
Solomon is suffering several “psychiatric situations that contributed greatly” to the situation, Nasal said. “It does not excuse your behavior, but it helps explain it,” he told Solomon.
The conditions in the home where the dogs were kept, and Solomon lived with her daughters, were described by the judge as appalling and disgusting.
Although the first reaction to the case would be to order jail time, Nasal said incarceration would not contribute to the rehabilitation of Solomon.
He told her, however, jail would be imposed if she didn’t follow conditions of five years of probation.
The sentence included suspended jail time of 260 days, fines of $1,000, court costs and 280 hours of community service. A probation officer would make visits to the home, Nasal said. Solomon also was ordered to pay $955 restitution, which was the difference between the cost of the shelter caring for the three days since they were seized and the amount in adoption fees the shelter took in from the dogs seized and then adopted.
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