HORACE LANGFORD JR. / PVT Sharon Lee Allen, outside the Pahrump Justice Court, after pleading not guilty to 13 misdemeanor charges relating to animal neglect that stemmed from 100 cats seized from her house last summer. Advertisement

Sharon Lee Allen, former president of the For Love of Cats and Kittens sanctuary, pleaded not guilty to 13 misdemeanor charges relating to animal cruelty and neglect in Pahrump Justice Court Monday, April 14.

Allen's charges stem from the removal of more than 100 cats from her residence in August 2007.

Authorities maintain the cats were found in dirty conditions and various stages of ill health, but Allen has consistently maintained the cats were well care for and given proper veterinary care when necessary.

She has also said the conditions of her home and the animals had been exaggerated by the media and the authorities.

Allen told Justice of the Peace Tina Brisebill that she would be representing herself in court.

Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 14.

Charges have yet to be filed against Allen or anyone else for the hundreds of cats that were found at the FLOCK sanctuary, located on Bond Street, last summer.

The cats were found sick, dehydrated and starving.

Animal Control officers turned the facility over to the Best Friends Animal Society, the volunteers for which (along with a number of locals) cleaned the facility, treated the cats and held a number of adoption events until most of the animals found new homes.

The remaining cats were transferred to the Best Friends no-kill sanctuary in Kenab, Utah.

Unfortunately, 60 cats from the sanctuary ultimately had to be euthanized.

Allen has denied responsibility for the conditions in which the sanctuary's cats were found, saying she left them well-fed and in good condition when she resigned from her position as president of FLOCK and left in May.

Margaret Ward, of FLOCK's executive board, has said Allen took in more animals than she could handle and let the situation escalate out of control.