By RICHARD CONN / Review Appeal Staff Reporter

Like many of the volunteers who fostered animals taken earlier this year from the home of dog breeder Jennifer Siliski, Julia Cathey will come Oct. 16 with money in hand — as much as it will take to get back the Maltese dog she said has “captured her heart.”

It’s on that date that all animals seized in the Jan. 22 night raid of Siliski’s kennel will be sold in public auction at the old Battle Ground Academy campus in Franklin.

“I am going to try to buy my dog and I’ll probably pay more money than she’s worth,” Cathey said of the dog she had named Dina.

Circuit Court Judge R.E. Lee Davies on Monday sentenced Siliski to 10 days in jail and one year of supervised probation followed by eight years of unsupervised probation for nine counts of animal cruelty. As part of her sentence, Davies also ruled that Siliski would be required to serve 50 hours of community service. The maximum jail time to which Siliski could have been sentenced was 11 months, 29 days on each count.

But it wasn’t the punishment doled out to Siliski that was foremost on the minds of the foster caretakers who packed the courtroom for nearly six hours Monday. Instead, it was the future of the animals.

Like many of those who have volunteered to care for the pets shortly after the case against Siliski began, Cathey had hoped Davies would allow the caretakers to have the first choice to purchase the animals. Instead, Cathey will likely be one of many bidders for the animals.

“What he is doing is making money for the county by punishing us because we would pay ridiculous amounts,” Cathey said of Davies’ ruling. “I was not looking for a free dog. I am willing to pay market price.”

Pat Bullard, a volunteer at Williamson County Animal Control (WCAC) who has also donated financially to the agency, said she was outraged that the dogs were being auctioned off like “mules, cows and other livestock, totally against the rules of any American Kennel Club dog group.”

All dogs and cats to be auctioned are to be returned by foster caretakers no later than Oct. 13, Davies said. No experts will be called to set prices for the dogs and cats, which will not be required to be spayed or neutered.

After the auction is completed, any remaining animals will become property of WCAC.

Each of Siliski’s four children will be allowed to keep one pet. Those animals must be spayed or neutered within 30 days, Davies ruled, or they would be forfeited to WCAC.

Davies’ sentence means Siliski’s days as a dog breeder are over. Witnesses called by the defense Monday testified that Siliski had recently been trying to get a job in retail and had applied for positions at Blockbuster Video and Kroger. However, Siliski’s attorneys argued it was hard for her to find another job with all the publicity the trial had received.

Davies said because Siliski showed no remorse for her crimes, he felt the need to sentence her to time in jail.

“You don’t even seem to think you’re guilty,” Davies told her.

Those who had purchased dogs from Siliski before her kennel was raided but had not yet received the animals will have the opportunity to plead their cases to Davies at a special hearing Oct. 5. The judge asked that prospective owners provide proof of ownership.

Staff Reporter Richard Conn can be contacted at richard@reviewappeal.com.

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