Minnesota Dog Breeder Faces 16 Charges of Animal Cruelty

Nauseating news emerged from Minnesota this week as 61-year-old dog breeder Dayna Bell was charged with 16 counts of felony animal cruelty.

According to reports from CBS Minnesota, Bell allegedly murdered 16 dogs and puppies by means of drowning, and in one case, by breaking a dog’s neck.

One of Bell’s formal employees at Bell Kennels—which Bell owns and operates—claims to have seen Bell throw a dog into a pool with a cinder block tied where it ultimately drowned. The same witness also recalls an instance in which Bell took a small dog that had bitten her outside, only to return without the dog claiming that she had broken the dog’s neck.

Other witnesses and former employees claim Bell would use buckets of water to drown puppies, claiming that the puppies were sick and she did not want to see them suffer.

Keith Streff, senior investigator for the American Humane Society told CBS Minnesota News that in her profession, Bell would have to euthanize dogs from time to time, but prosecutors are charging her because of how she killed the dogs. Drowning the dogs would have caused them to suffer greatly before death, not to mention it is completely inhumane.

After searching Bell Kennels, investigators also found about 10 small breed dogs wrapped in plastic in a freezer chest—based on the appearance of their fur the dogs were presumably wet when they were frozen.

Bell’s attorney, however, thinks that his client, who as been a dog breeder for close to 40 years, will be vindicated of all charges.

If convicted, Bell faces a sentence of two years per count of animal cruelty—ultimately a maximum of 32 years in prison—and a $5,000 fine.

Bell posted a bail of $50,000 on Tuesday and is able to be in contact with animals as she awaits her next court appearance in July.

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