Probation for woman in dog euthanasia case

A Manorville horse rescuer slammed Suffolk authorities Tuesday for leveling what she called "scurrilous charges" against her after she was sentenced to probation for euthanizing a dog in front of a child.

Mona Kanciper, in a written statement released to reporters after the sentencing, said she was "a victim of a trivial but hurtful prosecution" and said her case prevented prosecutors from "protecting the real victims of crime."

Kanciper was acquitted in an October bench trial of three felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty, but convicted of misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child. In his verdict, Suffolk County Court Judge James Hudson said Kanciper was justified in euthanizing three dogs in 2010, but should not have begun euthanizing one of them in front of a horseback-riding student.

Hudson sentenced Kanciper Tuesday to 3 years' probation and said she cannot have a dog while on probation without permission from the county Probation Department. The judge denied a motion from her attorney to set aside the conviction.

In a written statement, the district attorney's office said Kanciper's "choice to euthanize the dog in the child's presence was egregious and her lack of remorse is troubling."

Kanciper last year filed a $25-million lawsuit accusing the Suffolk Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of charging her based on "fraud and misrepresentations." The SPCA declined to comment Tuesday.

Kanciper, in the statement released by her Manhattan publicist, said she looks forward "to rebuilding my life, caring for my children and continuing to run Butler Farm and New York Horse Rescue as before."

Kanciper's attorney, Paul Gianelli, of Hauppauge, said outside court that the charges "hurt her emotionally." "To be charged with cruelty really went to the heart of what she does," Gianelli said.

Hudson said he had read 63 letters supporting Kanciper. "Thirteen were not considered because they questioned the verdict against you, some in language the court considers insulting," Hudson said, according to a court transcript.

Kanciper did not speak in court. Surrounded by a dozen supporters, she left court after the sentencing without talking to any.