HATTIESBURG, Miss.-A Picayune woman who pleaded guilty to animal abuse is now accused of faking a certificate for a dog's hearing test to sell a puppy from a breed with hearing problems.
The Hattiesburg American reports that a state grand jury charged 59-year-old Lynne Hackney with false pretenses related to the $700 sale of an Australian cattle dog puppy.
Hackney could not be reached for comment Sunday. An online database had no current phone number for her.
In 2014, Hackney and her husband, Miles Allen, were charged with cruelty to animals after Pearl River County authorities confiscated more than 50 dogs from their property in Carriere.
The Picayune Item reported in 2015 that they pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor offenses each.
Private investigator and researcher Michelle Veron of Denham Springs, Louisiana, who specializes in puppy mills, worked on the initial animal abuse case. When helping place the confiscated dogs in safe homes, she discovered the certificates, which she believed were forged.
Veron told the newspaper that she gathered as many certificates as she could find, then sent them to LSU to see if they could be verified. She said they were not.
"The hope is that because she got a slap on the wrist for animal neglect charges, we're really hoping she gets jail time for this and gets permanent sanction from the AKC," Veron said.