Gun charge thrown out

COEUR d’ALENE — A gun charge against a dog breeder who had roughly 40 canines seized from her property last week was dismissed Monday at Spokane County Superior Court, according to her attorney.

Scott Hill, representing Wilma L. Turner, the Hauser Lake area breeder who was taken into sheriff’s custody Friday, said Turner was inaccurately believed to have a felony on her record, which led to her arrest.

That felony charge had long been dismissed, Hill said, so the arrest was unwarranted.

Meanwhile, Turner, 61, will request this week the return of her 42 poodle-bred dogs taken from her property, the Iron Horse Ranch, near the Washington-Idaho state line.

If that doesn’t work, she plans to petition the court for their return.

“I’m hoping a simple letter will suffice rather than do the petition,” Hill said Tuesday. “But we shall see.”

Turner has 14 days to petition the court.

The Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service facility is keeping the 42 dogs, which they have described as infected, too skinny, with severe grooming issues.

SCRAPS originally thought there were 38 seized dogs, but that total climbed to 42 by recounting the puppies, officials said.

Hill said charges won’t be necessary. The majority of the dogs taken were puppies and their mothers and are in good health.

Turner had been in the breeding business for around 40 years, and Hill said the property at 26727 E. Hauser Lake Road had passed up to three inspections this year alone.

Turner’s alleged 1999 marijuana production felony case was dismissed in 2002, her attorney said, which deputies didn’t recognize at the time of her arrest last Friday.

Turner was arrested after workers found three weapons, a pistol and two rifles at the scene, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said at the time. Hill said the arrest was unwarranted because of the prior dismissal, but his client is more concerned with recovering her dogs.

“Somebody screwed up,” Hill said. “Everyone’s jumping the gun a little bit.”

Sgt. Dave Reagan said he was unaware of the original felony charge being dropped. He said deputies made an arrest based on probable cause, and wasn’t aware that it wasn’t a part of her record.

“We live in an imperfect world,” he said. “If we don’t have a case that can be supported in trial, then it should be dismissed.”

SCRAPS director Nancy Hill said the dismissed weapon possession charge doesn’t have anything to do with possible neglect charges in the future.

The facility is working with neighboring facilities to house dogs while the seized dogs remain in custody. The Kootenai Humane Society took in five dogs from SCRAPS on Monday to help make room for the seized dogs.

Both facilities are reducing prices to encourage adoption to make room. KHS will charge half price for dogs until Aug. 14, when their one day price will be $14. They are usually $85.