On Tuesday, January 11, an Avra Valley, Arizona, couple was sentenced to three years probation for running a puppy mill.
Billy Ray Jones and Wanda Lee Jones pleaded guilty in December to four counts of cruel neglect of animals, according to the Arizona Daily Star.
Pima County law enforcement officers went to the Jones's triple-wide mobile home in March 2008 and found about 800 small dogs and about 40 exotic birds living in unsanitary conditions.
Ten of the dogs had to be euthanized, while another 28 later died, reports the news source.
The news provider reports that during the court hearing in which the Joneses pleaded guilty, prosecutor Rona Kreamer said the couple was selling the dogs online for more than $1,000 each and claimed that they were purebred, healthy and never put in cages.
Deputy Pima County Attorney Joshua Moser said that some of the dogs were kept in cages while others were allowed to wander around the house and breed indiscriminately.
The Associated Press reports that as part of their sentence, the Joneses will have to donate $500 to a charity that aids animals.