KALISPELL – A retired Kalispell doctor charged with aggravated animal cruelty for abandoning 12 puppies at a dump site in Somers was given a six-month deferred sentence Thursday.
John L. Heine pleaded no contest to the charge in May as part of a deal with prosecutors, who dropped two misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty.
The puppies, only two of which survived, were found Aug. 21 in a garbage bag at a dump site. The 75-year-old Heine, a retired obstetrician who breeds dogs, has said he tried to drown the puppies because they were an unwanted litter and he feared they might contract parvovirus after two puppies he had shipped from Texas died from the disease.
District Judge Stewart Stadler suspended a $1,000 fine, but recommended that Heine donate $2,500 to help the Flathead County Animal Shelter spay or neuter pets and strays. Heine will still be allowed to own dogs and operate a kennel while he is on probation.