ELKMONT, Ala. — An Alabama woman told investigators that “the devil was at work” when she was asked about the 43 dead dogs found in freezers and a kennel at her home.

Authorities believe the animals starved to death at Nan Johnson’s home. Another 29 malnourished dogs found at her home were rescued, and many of them have since been adopted.

Johnson was charged with 43 counts of animal cruelty which could each carry a maximum of six months in jail.

Her friends and family say she had become very ill in the months before the dogs were found dead and say that she once cared for the animals.

ATLANTA — The number of cats and dogs put down at metro Atlanta animal shelters is rising amid sharp budget cuts.

The number of cats and dogs destroyed at animal shelters in Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties has jumped 24 percent in the last two years. Those five core metro Atlanta counties killed almost 30,000 cats during that time.

Gwinnett County led the metro area with 7,588 dogs and cats put down in 2009. County officials say almost half of the animals were destroyed because the shelter could not house them.

Animal activists say adoption programs will never solve the problem. They advise animal owners to spay and neuter the animals to help control the population.

OCALA, Fla. — Hundreds of dead animals have been found at an Ocala-area home.

An official at the Marion County Animal Center says 348 dead animals, mostly just skeletal remains, were found across the property, as well as in cages, in feed bags and in plastic bags stuffed in the owner’s freezer. Another 375 animals were found alive but malnourished.

The live animals included 151 dogs and 156 birds as well as cattle, tortoises, cats, hamsters, sheep, horses, rabbits and lizards.

The 64-year-old owner of the property, who is licensed to sell exotic birds, was taken for a mental health evaluation and treatment after officials discovered the problem Thursday. He was living in a mobile home found littered with animal feces and human waste.

He’s not yet been charged with any wrongdoing.

SEATTLE — A formerly wealthy entrepreneur who spent three years in prison for smuggling cocaine is in trouble with the law again — this time for reportedly running a bestiality farm in Washington state.

Douglas Spink was arrested at his compound near the Canadian border in Whatcom County this week for investigation of violating the terms of his supervised release. Also taken into custody was a 51-year-old tourist from Great Britain, who is accused of having sex with three dogs.

Spink was arrested in 2005 as part of a smuggling ring. He was given a lenient sentence because of his extensive cooperation with investigators.

Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo says dogs, horses and mice were seized from Spink’s property. The mice had their tails cut off, were smothered in Vaseline and had to be euthanized.

Spink is due in federal court in Seattle Friday on a charge of violating the terms of his supervised release. His attorney, Howard Phillips, calls the allegations “refutable.”

SAN FRANCISCO — Animal shelters must keep stray animals for four weekdays before putting them to death.

A state appeals court has ruled that shelters can no longer count Saturday as a business day when determining how long to keep an animal. The ruling affects state laws that set different holding times for dogs, cats and other animals.

The ruling was in response to the 2006 case of a Berkeley woman whose dog was impounded in Pinole on a Thursday and relinquished to another person on a Wednesday. The shelter argued that it had held the dog for four business days as required by law–Friday, Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

The three-judge appeals panel ruled that not counting Saturday means longer holding periods that provide more opportunities for redemption and adoption.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — In Ashley Mutch’s view, Almost Heaven was anything but.

As she inspected the huge kennel outside Allentown, the SPCA police officer was hit with an “immensely strong” odor of urine and feces. Mutch said she saw dogs living in their own waste, suffering from matted fur and skin ailments, and lacking access to food and water. Her inspection report described a filthy, neglected compound bursting with 779 animals, primarily dogs but also cats, guinea pigs, horses, ponies, fowl, monkeys and a pig.

The 2008 raid at Almost Heaven Kennel resulted in criminal charges against its owner, Derbe “Skip” Eckhart, who goes on trial Monday on animal cruelty and other counts in a case that state dog-law officials are using to illustrate their get-tough approach to unscrupulous breeders.

The trial in Lehigh County Court is set against the backdrop of an ongoing state crackdown on puppy mills, the large commercial breeding facilities that critics say put profits over the health of animals. The Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement said Friday in a news release that it has used tough new provisions in state dog law to shut down five of Pennsylvania’s “most notorious” breeding kennels, including Almost Heaven.

Eckhart, who had originally agreed to plead guilty to some charges but then withdrew the plea, says he was attempting to save dogs that might otherwise have been destroyed. His lawyer promises a vigorous defense.

The case emerged from citizen complaints and an undercover operation mounted by the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 2008. Humane officers and confidential informants purchased dogs from Almost Heaven that were covered in feces and urine and suffered from respiratory infections, kennel cough, and parasite infestation, according to court papers.

The SPCA, joined by the Bureau of Dog Law, raided Almost Heaven and two associated properties on Oct. 1, 2008. Agents seized dozens of animals found to be in need of veterinary care and removed nine dog carcasses from two freezers.

The Bureau of Dog Law subsequently revoked Eckhart’s kennel license, denied his application for a 2009 license, then raided the compound last June after he failed to get rid of his animals. In the bureau’s largest enforcement action to date, wardens plucked 218 dogs from Almost Heaven, including some that were being hidden in Eckhart’s home illegally, according Jessie Smith, the state’s top dog-law enforcer.

In a recent op-ed, Smith, special deputy secretary for dog law enforcement, used Almost Heaven as an example of how the new dog law is working to “save thousands of suffering dogs from substandard kennels, which has given them a chance at a better life.” The June raid “was only made possible because of the new dog law,” she wrote. “The rescued dogs were placed in shelters around the region and quickly adopted.”

Gov. Ed Rendell signed tough new legislation in 2008 meant to drive chronic offenders out of business and end the state’s reputation as the puppy mill capital of the East. Key provisions that went into effect in October required large-scale breeders to double cage sizes, eliminate wire flooring and provide unfettered access to exercise. The new law also banned cage stacking, instituted twice-a-year vet checks and mandated new ventilation and cleanliness standards.

More than 40 percent of the state’s large breeding kennels have shut their doors rather than upgrade their facilities. Breeders generally despise the new law, saying it is too expensive to comply with and has eliminated many good breeders along with the few bad ones.

Eckhart, for his part, disputed the allegations of animal cruelty when they first arose, noting that an inspection by state wardens less than two months before the raid turned up no violations of kennel regulations.

His lawyer, Jeff Conrad, who represents many commercial breeders, accuses wardens of deploying “Gestapo-like tactics” in their enforcement of the new law.

He acknowledged Eckhart had more dogs than he could handle, but said the dogs on which the criminal charges are based had only come to Eckhart recently from other breeders who were going out of business.

“Skip Eckhart did not want to see the animals destroyed, and so he took the animals on,” Conrad said. “He shouldn’t have, because he was already booked. But he did because he loved the animals. As a result of that he’s charged for those animals.”

Even if Eckhart is cleared, it will be a hollow victory. He is unlikely to get his kennel back, Conrad said.

“Society has now blackballed him,” Conrad said. “The injury he suffered at this point is too great for him to be able to overcome. It’s a sad state because it’s a man who loves animals.”

BROOKFIELD, Ohio — An Ohio woman who had her 97-year-old mother and 200 animals taken from her filthy home has been prohibited from having pets for five years.

Fifty-nine-year-old Kathy Witzman of Gustavus Township in northeast Ohio’s Trumbull County was put on probation Thursday on her guilty plea to misdemeanor animal cruelty.

She says her pet ban will mean unwanted animals will go to a shelter that will kill them because it lacks room. The animal shelter in her area says it has no intention of doing that.

Authorities reported unhealthy home conditions including a urine stench, underfed dogs lacking water and some kept in backyard cages.

The woman’s mother was covered in filth and underfed. She was taken to a hospital and then a nursing home.

ST. CLAIR, Mo. — Nearly 125 animals living in filthy conditions have been rescued from an eastern Missouri property.

The Humane Society of Missouri said Thursday it and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department rescued 102 domestic rabbits, three dogs, five cats, a guinea pig, three baby goats, four hens, two roosters, two pigeons, and two ducks.

It said the rabbits were housed in feces-filled, wire-bottom cages without shelter. The dogs and fowl had no shelter or water.

The cats, goats and guinea pig were inside a filthy home. The goats are sick.

The animals will receive care at the group’s St. Louis shelter or Longmeadow Rescue Ranch in Union.

Pending a custody hearing Wednesday, they could be available for adoption.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — An ousted Ohio firefighter who shot and killed two dogs in his basement walked out of a hearing to get his job back.

David Santuomo (san-TOO’-moh) left Monday’s appeals meeting when a Columbus television station set up a camera in the hearing room. The Civil Service Commission dismissed the case because Santuomo wasn’t present.

Prosecutors said the 43-year-old Santuomo shot his two dogs to avoid paying boarding costs while he took a cruise with his girlfriend. He dumped the carcasses in a trash bin behind a fire station.

Santuomo was fired from the Columbus fire department after pleading guilty last summer to three misdemeanors, including two animal cruelty counts.

He was sentenced to 90 days in jail and fined $4,500.

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — A woman will undergo a psychiatric evaluation following the discovery of more than 40 dead animals buried in her Long Island yard.

Suffolk County Judge Paul Hensley said Monday that psychiatrists will determine whether Sharon McDonough is “an incapacitated person.” The results are due Friday.

McDonough pleaded not guilty last month to animal abuse after five dogs and a cat were found living in squalid conditions inside her Selden home. Authorities later uncovered 42 dead animals buried in her backyard, but have yet to upgrade charges.

McDonough’s adult son claims she forced her children to participate in some of the abuse. A Family Court Judge has removed custody of her six daughters, ranging from 18 months to 13.

Attorney James D’Angelo says McDonough is looking forward to clearing her name.