photo taken outside of Wednesday's hearing
OTTUMWA, IOWA -- UPDATE-- No decision was made Wednesday morning in the animal abuse case surrounding Noelle Stanbridge.
The city and Stanbridge's attorney were in court to decide whether or not she should get her animals back. Stanbridge, a self described animal activist, was arrested late last month after a neighbor recorded her striking one of the many dogs she said she saved.
The prosecution examined her neighbor who took the video, two officers at the time of the arrest, and the veterinarian who looked over the animals.
The judge in the case wants to go over all of the videos played as well as an hour long audio tape of stanbridge going into detail how she stopped her dogs from digging holes in her yard.
According to officers, Stanbridge said she trimmed the dogs nails until they bled, put peroxide on them, and wrapped them in bandages. She says its an "old trainer's trick"on stopping the dogs from digging.
Defense Attorney Mike Carpenter argues that this isn't about the best practices of taking care of animals. It's whether or not it is severe enough to break the Iowa Code of neglect. He said the videos only showed the beatings, not the context of how it all started. Carpenter went on to say that the seven cats Stanbridge owns had no injuries and should remain with her.
A decision on who will gain permanent control of the animals is expected Thursday. The city has received several calls from people wanting to adopt the abused dogs.
KTVO will have more information at the hearing Thursday.
UPDATE -- A decision on whether Stanbridge case will not be rendered until Thursday.
A hearing to decide whether self-described animal rights activist Noelle Stanbridge can keep several pets seized from her home is underway right now.
KTVO's Zoheb Hassanali is at the hearing and says that it has drawn some protesters.
Stanbrige you may remember was arrested twice earlier this month for animal cruelty after a video surfaced earlier this month that purported to show her beating one of her dogs in her backyard.
KTVO will continue to follow this developing story.
Original KTVO story on Noelle Stanbridge