Woman Sentenced in Cat Cruelty Case

A woman was sentenced on Tuesday in the September 2011 Cool Cats Rescue animal cruelty case in which more than 60 cats were seized from the center on Benfield Road.

Deanna Lusko faced more than 140 counts of animal cruelty and entered an Alford plea to 10 of them, according to online court records.

WBAL reported the 50-year-old Lusko, who once ran Cool Cats Rescue, was ordered by a judge to pay a $2,000 fine and receive mental health care. Lusko will not serve jail time but was put on probation for five years and can not have animals during that time.

In September 2011, Anne Arundel County Animal Control and the police department seized more than 60 cats from Cool Cats Rescue. The cats were recovered in various conditions and two were found dead.

WBAL reported that Lusko entered an Alford plea on Tuesday "to five counts of causing unnecessary pain and suffering to the animals and five counts for not providing veterinary care." Lusko did not say she was guilty, but acknowledged there was sufficient evidence against her.

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