59 charges of animal neglect brought against Diana Sleiertin have been dropped in a plea agreement, says Sleiertin, owner of MaxMan Reptile Rescue in Jordan.
The Central New York SPCA took 45 animals from Sleiertin’s home in October following allegations of deplorable conditions by three former MaxMan volunteers. Sleiertin, with about 10 other volunteers, went to the SPCA Wednesday afternoon to retrieve the reptiles that had been released back to her in the agreement.”To bring this in an end and in the best interest of my animals and my family, I accepted some conditions that I may or may not agree with,” Sleiertin said.
Sleiertin agreed to plead guilty to one violation of improperly housing an outdoor dog and to the SPCA for the care of her animals over the last several months, which amounted to $976.
The agreement limits conditions for Sleiertin over the next year, during which time she can only hold 35 animals on her property. She is not allowed to own dogs, cats, tortoises or bearded dragons, with the exception of her son’s bearded dragon, Lou.
The SPCA and NYS Department of Environmental Conservation are also allowed to enter Sleiertin’s home from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays unannounced.
Among the 45 animals confiscated in October were two dogs, which Sleiertin said had already been given back to MaxMan volunteers.
Sleiertin was returned 26 animals on Wednesday, and said the SPCA held onto tortoises and bearded dragons. She said four reptiles died in the SPCA’s care, and three were unaccounted for – a 3-foot iguana, an 8-foot Burmese python and a 12-inch king snake.
“I asked [CNY SCPA Director Paul] Morgan about specifically one animal and he assured me he would try and get it back,” Sleiertin said, adding that she would be more than happy to assist the SPCA in locating the animals.
Sleiertin adopted out every animal still living in her house leading up to the plea agreement.
“I did that voluntarily because I wanted to make sure there was no question as to the fact that we should have the availability to bring home every animal possible,” she said.
Through all of this, MaxMan and its crew of about 30 volunteers have not stopped hosting educational programs, Sleiertin said. The rescue aspect of MaxMan, however, was affected and will have to be reevaluated over the next year.
Sleiertin is glad to be done with the lawsuit, which she said stemmed from allegations by “three very disgruntled” former volunteers.
She said it was a “very personal attack that wasn’t really based on truth.”
“We’re very fortunate not only for a wonderful volunteer team that has stood by us the entire time, but we have had great support from the public,” Sleiertin said.
