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The lawyer for a longtime kennel owner accused of neglecting hundreds of dogs on her Kennewick property asked the court Thursday to ban the use of the term "puppy mill" so as not to label his client or taint potential jurors.
"Give her a chance in court and I will prove the opposite," Peyman Younesi said of the charges against Ella Louise Stewart.
Stewart, 66, pleaded innocent in Benton County Superior Court to one count of first-degree animal cruelty, a felony, and nine counts of second-degree animal cruelty. The nine counts are all gross misdemeanors.
Her trial is scheduled for Sept. 14.
Younesi said he has not received any evidence that states his client was running a puppy mill at 511 E. 27th Ave.
"It's a label that the case got at the outset and after extensive research with Ella," including going to her property two or three times, that is far from the truth, he told the Herald after the hearing.
Younesi said he understands that "puppy mill" is a standard term used for incidents like this, but added that he doesn't want to taint the jury or convict Stewart before she's gone to trial.
"But I know the words are already out there," said Younesi, who is considering asking the court to move the case out of Benton County when it gets closer to trial.
Deputy Prosecutor Terry Bloor told the court that he didn't believe his office had used the term.
It was The Humane Society of the United States that called the situation at Stewart's home one of the nation's largest and worst puppy mills.
Judge Robert Swisher asked Bloor to refrain from issuing any news releases in the next week or using the phrase until he can rule on Younesi's request.
Another hearing will be held Thursday. Swisher said Stewart does not need to attend.
Stewart had owned Sun Valley Kennel since the 1960s, breeding American Eskimo dogs. She was arrested May 12 after sheriff's Deputy Scott Runge, while responding to an unrelated call, found the small, white dogs living in filthy cages, shopping carts, wooden boxes and other make-shift kennels.
Deputies returned two weeks later with a search warrant to seize the dogs, assess the living conditions and collect any business documentation of animal sales. Three search warrants were served.
About 370 dogs were taken based on their "lack of proper nutrition, dehydration, poor hygiene, unattended medical needs, lack of ventilation and heat exposure," court documents said.
Stewart relinquished control of the dogs, which ranged in age from two days old to their late teens.
The dogs' injuries included a missing left hind paw, a missing left eye, an untreated bite wound on an ear and "severe urinary and fecal staining as well as skin infections," documents said.
The felony charge is for five dogs that had to be euthanized after being rescued. Their health problems ranged from an infected uterus and kidney and urinary infections to a ruptured eye and brain injury, according to prosecutors.
Several adult dogs are now available for adoption at shelters across the Northwest, including the Benton-Franklin Humane Society in Kennewick and Blue Mountain Humane Society in Walla Walla.
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire signed a new law April 30 that cracks down on puppy mills.
The law, which takes effect Jan. 1 limits breeders to having no more than 50 non-neutered dogs older than 6 months at one time. It also establishes some basic animal welfare standards -- like clean food and water and release from cages at least for an hour a day -- and sets kennel size.
-- Kristin M. Kraemer: 582-1531; kkraemer@tricityherald.com
