A former Carroll County dog breeder has been ordered not to own or operate a dog kennel in Virginia after a string of animal cruelty and other charges related to his Hillsville business, Horton’s Pups.

General District Court Judge Ed Turner handed down the order Friday after finding Lanzie “Junior” Horton guilty of three charges.

Horton was fined $500 and sentenced to a year in jail, all suspended, on a conviction of violating breeding requirements. He was also fined $100 each for two convictions of failing to adequately care for animals as a dealer. Twelve other charges against Horton were dropped.

The misdemeanor charges stemmed from January and were the latest to be brought against Horton since November 2007, when he was found to have more than 1,000 dogs.

At the time, Horton was licensed to have 500 dogs.

In January, Virginia law changed to allow breeders no more than 50 dogs over the age of 1 year for breeding.

 

Source: NewRivervalley.com