In Eureka, Montana, deputies pulled 40 dogs from pens crusted with feces and urine, with barely any shelter from the summer heat. 

More than half of those dogs were rated at the lowest end of the Body Condition Scale, a mark of severe, prolonged starvation. A female Husky suffered so much neglect that she had to be euthanized. Another Husky and two mixed-breed dogs needed emergency veterinary care for life-threatening emaciation, their bones visible beneath the skin.

A separate dog was already dead when deputies arrived, its body too decomposed to determine a cause of death.

Ilya Petrovich Kovalenko now faces 106 charges for this: 36 felony counts and one misdemeanor count for how these animals were confined, 34 felony counts for failing to provide food and water, and 35 felony counts for failing to provide veterinary care. He could face up to 210 years in prison and $262,500 in fines, but only if the Lincoln County Attorney's Office pushes for it.

Cases like this too often end quietly, with a plea deal that treats months of suffering as a footnote.

These dogs never got a choice. Sign the petition to demand the Lincoln County Attorney's Office pursue the maximum charges against Kovalenko, so this case ends in real justice, not a quiet plea deal.