Probation for Puppy Mill Owner

The owner of a Bethany puppy mill escaped a prison sentence Monday when a Superior Court judge sentenced him to three years of supervised probation after he pleaded guilty to 10 animal cruelty counts.

Jeffery Boyarsky stood before Judge William Holden while his attorney Jack O'Donnell argued that jailing the former owner of Boyar Kennels would serve no purpose. Holden agreed, sentencing Boyarsky to a suspended nine-year term and placing him on three years supervised probation. Under the sentence, Boyarsky can never again own a kennel and can only have one pet, a dog that Boyarsky said lives with his daughter.

Boyarsky is a "broken man," O'Donnell said. He suffers from a variety of physical and mental ailments, the attorney said, and has lost everything -- his marriage, his family and his business.

"What happened in this case is his physical and mental infirmities got the best of him," O'Donnell said. When Boyarsky was no longer able to handle the responsibilities of the business, the burden fell on his wife, who was also ill-equipped to deal with it, O'Donnell said.

Boyarsky's wife Bella also was charged in the case and was sentenced to a five-year suspended sentence in January. She pleaded guilty under the Alford Doctrine, not admitting guilt but acknowledging that the state had enough evidence to convict her.

But State's Attorney Joseph LaMotto said Boyarsky was well enough to breed dozens of dogs and make a profit from them.

"He was certainly not too sick to sell those animals and maintain the website," LaMotto said, noting that when the 275 live animals -- both dogs and birds -- were confiscated in 2008, there were 53 puppies, 40 of them under five weeks of age. Five other animals were found dead that day at the kennel.

"They were all going to be sold which would have meant income to the defendant," LaMotto said. The birds confiscated were the type that could be sold to pet stores at a profit, he added. 

"The state's position today is that jail time is warranted," LaMotto told Holden, recommending 10 years in prison suspended after two served.

At the time of his arrest, Boyarsky was on probation from a prior breach of peace conviction, LaMotto said, the conditions of which were the suitable care of his animals. Though never charged with violation of probation, Boyarsky clearly was at the time of his arrest, LaMotto said.

"The state hopes that the court can send a message to those running so-called puppy mills," he told Holden.

He also argued that Boyarsky should be made to repay some of the cost of the state Department of Agriculture's investigation into the case, asking for reparations of $6,400. Holden agreed with that but set the repayment amount at $3,000, noting that Boyarsky had already made a donation to the ASPCA of $2,000.

Afterwards O'Donnell said his client wasn't happy with having to pay more money. Boyarsky's only income is Social Security disability, he said, and "money is tight."