A dog breeder who abandoned 99 St. Bernards to go on vacation has been sentenced to 18 weeks for animal cruelty.
Mary Collis, 51, admitted to seven counts of causing unnecessary suffering to 85 dogs and failing to meet the needs of 14 dogs at an earlier hearing, according to a BBC report.
Collis, a trained veterinary nurse, was also banned from keeping any animals for 10 years.
One of the 99 St. Bernards had to be put to sleep the night they were found, nearly a year ago. Another died the following day at a vets. Twelve more died after that, as a result of their abandonment, according to testimony. The remaining 83 dogs have since been adopted after a campaign by the RSPCA.
Collis, who had declared bankruptcy in 2007 and was facing eviction, abandoned the dogs to go on vacation with her partner. RSPCA inspectors and police went into the kennels five days later, after receiving public complaints.
