By MELISSA N. WARREN / Review Appeal Staff Reporter

The first day at trial in dog breeder Jennifer Siliski’s animal cruelty case set the stage for a fierce battle between the prosecution and defense attorneys, as both sides alleged the other has committed acts of animal cruelty.

After culling through and dismissing more than 10 potential jurors, the attorneys agreed on a jury by 12:15 p.m. Opening statements began roughly an hour and a half later, with the state delivering an emotional story about the conditions in which officials found the animals.

“This dog was found lifeless and having a seizure,” Assistant District Attorney Braden Boucek told the jury as he pointed to a list of the 14 dogs and cats highlighted in the 30 counts of cruelty. “The uterus of this dog was literally a 2-pound bag of pus ... this animal had zero body fat ... the male dog had a consistent and constant erection, so much that the vet was afraid the penis would die from lack of blood. In this case, pus flowed from this animal’s nose like a river ... and the only thing keeping this dog’s teeth in its head was the tartar buildup.”

Boucek also said that the jury will hear testimony from witnesses who saw Siliski throw live dogs into a trash can because they were deformed.

“She would hold the dog up and say, ‘What a [expletive] waste, I can’t sell this,” the assistant district attorney said.

Perhaps the most disturbing image Boucek painted was of a dog that had literally burst at the seams. That particular dog was recovering from a C-section that had been performed a few days before the Jan. 22 raid on Siliski’s 2235 Bowman Road home. After eight days in the care of Williamson County Animal Control — the facility that has cared for the more than 230 animals since they were confiscated — something went terribly wrong with that recovery.

“Its C-section scar had exploded and the dog was walking on its own intestines,” Boucek told jurors. “It hadn’t been fed while in Siliski’s care and wasn’t strong enough to heal.”

While the state described a woman who abused, neglected and tortured some 200 animals, in the defense’s opening statement, attorney Rebecca Byrd claimed all criminal allegations are “just flat wrong.”

“You will not hear any evidence of [guilt] against my client,” Byrd told the jury. “No evidence exists that she has committed animal cruelty. Only the state and the employees at the Williamson County Animal Control (WCAC) have committed cruelty.”

As Siliski sat calmly taking notes, her attorney said there is a lack of evidence to prove that Siliski had fed male dogs Viagra, and alluded that is was the cold air let into the home during the 12-hour raid that contributed to the poor health of some of the dogs.

An audible gasp was heard among the 25 or so spectators in the courtroom — many of them volunteers at WCAC — when Byrd pointed fingers at Animal Control, alleging it was that organization which is to blame in the unfortunate C-section incident Boucek had already mentioned.

“Animal Control finds this dog eating her own intestines because she is in so much pain and what do they do?” she asked. “They stop to take pictures to show to you. That is animal cruelty.”

It is the first time Byrd has actually revealed a defense against the charges.

“Julie and Karen Burnham (workers at Siliski’s home kennel until a week before the raid) conspired with Debby Leddy, assistant director of Animal Control, to put my client out of business,” Byrd said, referring to three state witnesses. “You’re going to hear why Karen and Julie Burnham do not like Jennifer Siliski, why Debby Leddy does not like Jennifer Siliski.”

The defense also claimed that the ex-kennel workers and Leddy do not think Siliski is a nice person.

“And I’m not going to tell you she is,” Byrd consented. “She is assertive and aggressive.”

Judge R.E. Lee Davies reminded the jurors that this trial is not to determine whether Siliski is a good person, or even whether jury members themselves would like her. Rather, it is to determine if Siliski committed the crime at hand, he said.

Court will reconvene at 8:30 a.m. today and last until 6:30 p.m. in an effort to make headway in the trial.

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

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