CARIBOU – A Fort Kent woman pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of cruelty to animals in 1st District Court, ending an eight-month case that began with the discovery of more than 30 animals abandoned at her former home in New Sweden.

Edith Keddy, 52, originally was charged with a felony count of aggravated cruelty to animals and nine counts of allowing dogs to run at large. All those charges were dismissed in a plea bargain based on her guilty plea to the two misdemeanor charges.

Judge Ronald A. Daigle sentenced the woman to a $500 fine, 60 days in jail, suspended, and two years of probation on each count. The sentences are concurrent.

During her probation, Keddy must not own or possess any animals, she must pay $1,548 in restitution to the Central Aroostook Humane Society, and she must continue counseling.

Even after her probation period, Keddy may not own or possess more than two animals at any one time.

Last Feb. 25, eight officers of various law enforcement agencies seized 29 dogs and seven cats from Keddy’s home on Rista Road in New Sweden. The animals were taken to the Central Aroostook Human Society.

She told one officer at the time that one of her dogs had been killed by a car and two others were missing.

A police report said that no one had been to the Keddy home for four days. Cats were found to have no food or water. Snow and ice were all the animals had to drink.

According to an affidavit, police found dogs eating garbage and chewing on empty cans. Some dogs were deformed, one was caught between boards covering a window, and some had fur matted in clumps the size of softballs.

Officers needed disposable suits and breathing equipment to enter the house at the scene. The affidavit said two floors of the house were ankle-deep in feces, a dead puppy was found in a cage, and two dead cats were found in the house.

“I am sorry about the animals,” she told the judge in a nearly inaudible voice before being sentenced. “I did not intend for this to happen.”

Her attorney, Michael Carpenter of Houlton, said the case is one of a woman who tried to do too much for the animals and became overwhelmed.

“She was a one-person rescue operation for unwanted animals,” Carpenter said outside the courtroom. “She took in animals from everyone, even the Central Aroostook Humane Society and from out-of-state.”

The plea bargain was reached between Carpenter and Assistant District Attorney Todd Collins. The case, originally scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday, was continued into the afternoon, and went even later in the day by the time it was resolved.

Eight animal lovers filled a full bench in the courtroom. Despite the continuations, they remained through the proceedings.

“I would never want her to have animals again,” Jennifer Howlett, a humane society worker and one of the eight people in court, said when she addressed the court.

“We had numerous complaints about her and nothing was ever done. We put in a lot of time to care for the animals, some that are scarred emotionally for life.

“It’s a horrible thing to do to animals,” she said.

Asking for conditions to Keddy’s probation, Collins told the court the case has “a shocking nature.” Of the 29 dogs rescued from her home, seven were in very poor health, most needed medical attention, and two were euthanized.

“She put herself in the position of taking in animals,” Collins said.

Someone said she was a volunteer for the Central Aroostook Humane Society at one time.

“It was a situation of a good thing gone bad,” Carpenter told the court. “She took animals no one else wanted, and she became overwhelmed.”

He said Keddy did “the best she could with limited money.”