Minnesota Woman Convicted of Animal Cruelty Gets Jail

HASTINGS, Minn. (AP) - A Dakota County dog kennel owner accused of drowning puppies has been sentenced to a month in jail.

Sixty-two-year-old Dayna Bell of Northfield also was ordered Friday to serve 45 days of electronic home monitoring and perform 100 hours of community service.

A jury in November convicted Bell on 13 counts of felony animal cruelty. The complaint says employees at Bell Kennels saw her drown puppies in buckets of water or by throwing them in a swimming pool with a cinder block tied to their necks.

The complaint says sheriff's deputies searched Bell Kennels in September 2011 and found 10 small dogs in a freezer.

Bell also was fined $2,600 and placed on four years probation. She also cannot own or work around animals and has forfeited her commercial license.