HILLTOWNS — Two women who were accused of animal abuse this summer have had their charges resolved this month.

Tanja Morse, of Westerlo, a dog breeder arrested in July and charged with abusing her dogs and her farm animals, had her charges adjourned in contemplation of dismissal.

In Berne, Linda Mellin, who had been arrested in May and gave up the animals she raised on what she had hoped would be a rescue farm, pleaded guilty on Nov. 14 to one of eight counts of animal abuse, according to Nicholas Evanovich, an attorney from the firm LaMarche Safranko Law, which represented both women.

While Evanovich said that the Albany County Sheriff’s deputies who arrested Mellin and Morse had “their hearts in the right place,” he emphasized that there had been no allegations against the two women that they intended to harm their animals.

“It was clear that Linda and Tanja cared very much for their animals,” he said.

“I agree with that … ,” said Albany County Sheriff’s investigator J.T. Campbell, in response to Evanovich’s statement that there had been no intent to harm. “It just got out of hand.”

Evanovich added that the plea deals were reached after research and investigation and work between the law firm, the defendants, and the Albany County District Attorney’s office.

Campbell said that he believed the plea deals reached were fair.

“Hoarding cases are difficult for those involved,” he said. “They got the assistance that was needed.”

Morse did not return calls seeking comment before press time, and Mellin could not be reached for comment.

Morse can still breed dogs

Morse had been charged with three counts of failure to provide sustenance, a misdemeanor. If she doesn’t get arrested in the next six months, the charges will be dropped, and her case sealed. She was allowed to keep her dogs, but not some of her farm animals, said Evanovich. Morse will also be able to continue breeding dogs so long as she does so legally.

Campbell said that Morse also would be following certain conditions for the next five years. Morse cannot own or possess any goats or llamas; she cannot purchase or possess any horses other than the ones she has now; she must in the next three months geld any male horses she owns that are not gelded or have them taken away; she cannot breed horses; and any chickens she keeps cannot be bred for profit.

The sheriff’s office will make an inspection with a veterinarian every three months during normal business hours over the next five years, said Campbell.

If Morse is found to have violated these conditions, even after the six months of the adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, she can be arrested for criminal contempt for violating a court order, said Campbell.

The Albany County Sheriff’s Office reported in July that its Criminal Investigations Unit and the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society found 56 dogs, 27 chickens, 16 horses, one llama, and 27 goats at Morse’s home.

The animals were living in “deplorable conditions,” the sheriff’s office said in a release.

Morse voluntarily turned over 16 of her dogs to the humane society and seven horses, her goats, and her llama to the sheriff’s office. Evanovich said the animals she forfeited will not be returned, but Morse may keep her remaining animals save for the ones she is no longer allowed to keep as the court ordered. Westerlo’s court clerk and the town justice who presided over the case could not be reached for comment before press time.

Morse told The Enterprise shortly after her arrest that the sheriff’s report was inaccurate, saying that she had only two animals that were ill. She also said the number of dogs the sheriff’s office reported was wrong, that she had 30 dogs, including two litters of puppies. According to Morse, she also has 28 goats, 12 horses, a llama, chickens, pigeons, and a peacock.

Morse said she suspected a neighbor had called the sheriff’s office after Morse’s aging mare had wandered onto the neighbor’s property. She described herself as a long-time dog breeder and farmer and said the arrest had led to disturbing her animals and could cause her financial problems.

Mellin can’t keep animals for five years, must pay fine

According to Berne Justice Court Clerk Stacy Loucks, Mellin agreed to a plea bargain on Nov. 14. Mellin waived her right to an appeal and pleaded guilty to one count of animal cruelty under the state’s Agriculture and Markets Law, for failure to provide sustenance, a misdemeanor; she had originally been charged with eight counts.

Mellin also agreed to being prohibited from owning, residing with, or possessing any animals — including farm animals — for five years. She had initially forfeited her animals in June in lieu of a bond payment. Andrew R. Safranko, another attorney from LaMarche Safranko Law, representing Mellin, told The Enterprise at that time that Mellin would have otherwise had to pay a $6,000 cash bond every month until her case was closed.

Mellin was fined $50 along with a $205 surcharge from the state, said Loucks. Evanovich said that Mellin would have a year to pay this fee and, if she does not, could be brought back to court for violating the conditions of the plea bargain.

“Very few people can pay an entire court fee up front,” he said.

The sheriff’s office executed a search warrant for Mellin’s property in May after a local television station received an anonymous tip that animals on the property were living in inadequate conditions. The sheriff’s office found three horses, five pigs, five sheep, 17 goats, approximately 15 chickens, four dogs, and two cats. Its report states the animals were living without food, water, or adequate shelter.

The property’s address was listed as an animal-rescue service known as D&W Farm and Animal Rescue, said the sheriff’s office. Mellin reportedly had aspired for years to open and run a shelter, and blog entries connected to D&W Farm describe how more and more calls to care for animals led to the shelter expanding from caring for horses to also caring for other animals.

While animal hoarders may span demographics, a psychologist working on anti-cruelty projects, Dr. Randall Lockwood, told The Enterprise following Morse’s arrest that hoarders are most often single women in their 40s or 50s.

This past summer saw several cases involving middle-aged women charged with animal cruelty; not only Mellin’s and Morse’s arrests in May and July, but also the arrest of a New Scotland woman in June who was charged with animal abuse after the dead bodies of a cat and a dog were found in her Feura Bush home.