A Warren woman pleaded no contest in an animal cruelty case in which 20 dogs and four turtles were found living in deplorable conditionsat her home in February.
Michelle Reyntiens, 57, is to be sentenced Sept. 14 in Macomb County Circuit Court. She pleaded no contest Wednesday, July 22, to one count of animals abandoning/cruelty to 10 or more animals, a four-year felony, according to online court records and the county prosecutor's office.
Messages were left for Reyntiens' attorney, who could not be immediately reached for comment Thursday, July 23.
The prosecutor's office described the animals as nine adult Pomeranian/Shih Tzu dogs, 11 Pomeranian/Shih Tzu puppies and four juvenile Red-eared slider turtles, according to a release. It said the animals were
ordered forfeited in 37th District Court in Warren in March and became property of animal control.
Chief Animal Control Officer Jeff Randazzo told the Free Press that all of the animals were adopted or transferred to rescue partners. His office handled all of the medical care for the animals.
Animal control removed the dogs and turtles from inside Reyntiens' home in the 14000 block of Hobart Avenue, in the area of 9 Mile and Schoenherr roads, when law enforcement executed a search warrant. The sheriff's office previously said the investigation revealed Reyntiens was selling narcotics in the Warren area, seizing what it said was crack cocaine in addition to the dogs and turtles.
The sheriff's office previously said the puppies were nursing, and all the animals were found in "extremely unsanitary" conditions. Several needed immediate medical care, county authorities said in February.
Prosecutor Peter Lucido said in his office's release: "Animal cruelty is not a mistake −it is a crime. My office will continue to stand up for animals and prosecute those who fail to provide the care and protection they are legally and morally required to give."
Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @challreporter.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Dogs, turtles safe as ex-owner awaits sentencing in cruelty case
