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Kennel owner, dog breeder arrested Saturday - News - Mobile back Side Panel Kennel owner, dog breeder arrested Saturday Lane Conrad charged with felony retaliation against a witness 1 image Dry Creek Basin-area kennel owner and dog-breeder Lane Conrad, right, and husband Dan Koon show a picture of two puppies born from a snake-bitten dog after Conrad’s sentencing hearing July 27 in San Miguel County District Court in Telluride. Conrad was arrested on Saturday, and now faces new charges of felony retaliation against a witness, misdemeanor violation of a protection order and misdemeanor harassment. (Photo by Justin Criado/Telluride Daily Planet) 3 By Andre Salvail, Editor | Updated 23 hours ago Former kennel owner and dog-breeder Lane Conrad of Redvale was arrested on Saturday, just nine days after being sentenced to probation and community service in San Miguel County District Court on a 2016 misdemeanor animal cruelty charge. According to a San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office report, the new charges against Conrad — felony retaliation against a witness, misdemeanor harassment and misdemeanor violation of a protection order — stem from alleged courthouse hallway comments she made to a witness in that case, immediately following her July 27 sentencing hearing. They also relate to comments she allegedly has posted on social media, and communicated through other avenues, concerning the same witness, a local veterinarian. The protection order — stipulating that Conrad "shall not harass, molest, intimidate, retaliate against or tamper with any witness to or victim of the acts you are charged with committing" — was approved by a judge and entered into the court record on Feb. 28. As a prime witness in the case, the veterinarian would have been protected by the order, which expires in July 2018. Reached for comment on Monday afternoon, Conrad suggested that she was the victim of a “liberal” witchhunt and said that the veterinarian was responsible for starting an argument on the social media site Telluride Sweet Rants in the days following the sentencing. However, according to an affidavit for an arrest warrant filed by a San Miguel County sheriff’s deputy, Conrad told the veterinarian in the courthouse on July 27, “Do you see what you’ve done… . I hope you’re happy with all the (expletive deleted) you’ve caused.” A deputy in the courtroom that day, performing security duties, “had to intervene and approach because of Lane’s excessively agitated state,” the affidavit says. The deputy handling security concurred that the course of events after the sentencing hearing “rose to the level of harassment,” the report adds. Further, the report notes, Conrad has repeatedly intimidated the veterinarian on other occasions, both directly during verbal attacks as well as indirectly “by rumors and falsehoods she’s made to multiple clients and on social media.” The veterinarian believes that Conrad is “unpredictable and volatile,” and he is concerned for his well being, the report states. The report also suggests that Conrad defamed the veterinarian. In a statement provided to the Sheriff’s Office, another witness said that she had been contacted by Conrad on the street and that Conrad claimed the veterinarian had lied about the case and that he was practicing without a license, the report says. The witness said that Conrad “admitted to trying to intimidate (the veterinarian) at court by telling her husband loudly ‘Now don’t you go hit him’ within easy earshot,” the report states. Conrad also noted that her husband is “a really big man,” the witness said. “Conrad’s courthouse aggression and outburst toward (the veterinarian) violate the active protection order,” the affidavit concludes. “… Her continued and repeated public discourse … are a continued pattern of harassment, intimidation and retaliation that began immediately after (the veterinarian) reported Conrad for her animal cruelty violations … and have continued to the present.” Speaking with the Daily Planet on Tuesday, Conrad said she has not threatened anyone. “Maybe there needs to be more investigation,” she said. Conrad added that she would tell her full story to another area media outlet “that is not liberal.” “That’s all I got (to say),” she said during the brief phone interview. Conrad bonded out of the San Miguel County Jail on Saturday evening. Her bail amount had been set at $25,000. At the sentencing hearing last month, District Judge Keri Yoder sentenced Conrad to one year of unsupervised probation and 60 hours of community service on the Class 1 misdemeanor animal cruelty charge to which she pleaded guilty during the spring. Conrad, 60, also was required to make a $750 donation to a humane society of her choice within 30 days of the sentencing. The community service must be completed inside of 90 days, per Judge Yoder’s sentence stipulations. Immediately following the hearing, a representative with the state’s Pet Animal Care Facilities Act (PACFA) Program notified Conrad, owner of Wash-N-Watch Dogs in Redvale, that her business license had been revoked. “They just destroyed our business,” Conrad’s husband, Dan Koon, told the Daily Planet following the hearing. Conrad said she was “fine” with the sentencing, but the revocation of the business license upset her. At the time, she and her husband planned to appeal that decision. “I have no idea how that’s going to be handled,” she said. The official notice of the alleged PACFA violation, signed by Christie Kline, says that neither Conrad nor Koon properly consulted a veterinarian before euthanizing two puppies last summer. Conrad originally was charged with a felony count of cruelty to animals. Her plea bargain to a misdemeanor resulted from an alleged incident in which one or more puppies she bred from the same litter were put down inappropriately. The incident occurred between July 24 and Aug. 24 of 2016, according to a spokeswoman for the 7th District Attorney’s Office. Conrad explained in court that a litter of five puppies was born from a snake-bitten bitch (a pregnant female canine). Two of the pups were stillborn, while the remaining three suffered neurological damage. One of the surviving three died a couple days later of natural causes, while the other two were put down by Koon and Conrad. Koon shot one in the head with .22-caliber bullet and Conrad placed one in a burlap sack before stomping on its head. The puppy was 5 days old at the time. Before Yoder handed down her sentence, Conrad spoke. “My responsibility as a dog lover and breeder is to do the best for the animals in my care. The puppy was dying. He was actually in agonal breathing, meaning that he’s on his way out,” she said. “I believe that is our responsibility as animal husbandry people to do what is right for the animal and literally put it out of its misery.” Conrad showed Yoder pictures of the snake-bitten bitch with a “grossly swollen” face and the litter. “Cultural differences” between the rural farming community and those who aren’t familiar with the lifestyle were cited by Conrad, Yoder and Deputy District Attorney Robert Whiting. “One of the biggest issues here is whether or not you would do this again,” Yoder said after Conrad’s address. Conrad answered: “I would not. I would not put myself in this position again. I will see veterinaries from now on. I have to.” Yoder urged Conrad to comply with the law that business owners must take animals under their care to a veterinarian to be treated or euthanized. Senior Staff Writer Justin Criado contributed to this story. 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