By MELISSA N. WARREN / Review Appeal Staff Reporter

The majority of the motions filed by dog breeder Jennifer Siliski’s attorney were dismissed in a motion hearing yesterday in Williamson County Circuit Court.

Siliski will face 30 counts of animal cruelty at a trial to be held in Williamson County beginning on Aug. 18.

“I expect the trial will last three days,” Rebecca Byrd, Siliski’s attorney, said. She extended that time prediction to two weeks, however, after Judge Lee Davies did not allow for a change in venue to another county.

The judge did grant Byrd’s motion for a bill of particulars from the District Attorney’s Office, so that Siliski’s counsel will know which animal was abused in each of the indictments.

“There is no way to know exactly what Siliski is being charged with for which dog because we haven’t been able to match up the indicted dogs with my client’s own vet records,” said defense attorney Ken Sanney. “Which dog did she not provide water for? Which is she not providing care for?”

Sanney also raised the question of what does the actual term “unreasonable” mean, citing that the verbiage in the statute is vague and lends itself to subjectivity. The judge did not agree, and quashed the motion of vagueness. Davies did have something to say about the term “unreasonable,” though.

“If someone goes away for the weekend ... and they put some food out for the dogs, that doesn’t seem unreasonable,” the judge said. “I’m sure that happens all the time.”

The indictments specifically allege that Siliski “did fail unreasonably to provide food, water, care and shelter,” and “unlawfully did torture or maim [an animal].”

In addition to the cruelty charges Siliski faces, there is also a Class A misdemeanor for possession of a controlled substance — Ketamine hydrochloride. Police discovered the drug when they served the search warrant during the Jan. 22 raid on Siliski’s Franklin home kennel at 2235 Bowman Road.

“This charge is largely linked to the cruelty charges,” said Assistant District Attorney Braden Boucek. “It can be used to treat dogs, albeit not safely.”

That charge will not be heard at the same time as the cruelty charges, as Byrd won a motion to separate that possession charge from the others.

And regarding the animals, six of the Maltese dogs seized during the raid will be returned to Siliski’s custody, with the stipulation that an Animal Control officer will make a short-notice visit once a week to ensure the conditions are acceptable. Those dogs were the “house pets” and were not allegedly abused, the D.A.’s office concurred.

“She’s not capable of caring for those animals,” District Attorney General Ron Davis said, in regard to the more than 200 other animals who are under the supervision of Animal Control officers as well as more than 160 foster caregivers.

The judge ruled that Siliski and her counsel should visit the Animal Control facility as soon as possible to identify which animals are family pets, which animals belong to animals belong to other owners and which animals can be sold.

Editor’s note: In a surprise move in support of her effort for a change of venue, Byrd called Williamson County Review Appeal Staff Reporter Melissa N. Warren to testify about her coverage of the case, citing the extensive media coverage in both print and broadcast media.

Staff Reporter Melissa N. Warren can be contacted at melissa@reviewappeal.com.