The lawyer for the woman accused of drowning puppies at her Sciota Township dog kennel says he will challenge the constitutionality of the law she is accused of violating more than a dozen times. Dayna K. Bell, 61, owns Bell Kennels and Farm, where three former employees say she drowned puppies in a bucket of water or by tying a cinder block to the animals' necks and throwing them in a swimming pool.

A woman is facing 16 charges of animal cruelty after allegedly abusing and killing dogs at her business, Bell Kennels and Farm. The Pioneer Press reports three former employees report seeing Dayna Kristine Bell hurt animals.

Thomas James Hart is charged with two counts of animal cruelty and one count of terrorizing after he allegedly drown his girlfriend's pet ferret. The girlfriend says Hart became angered over their looming breakup.

The judge ruled the woman has a mental deficiency and is unfit to stand trial. Stacey Champion was facing a charge of misdemeanor animal cruelty after she boxed up a puppy and tried to mail it to her son in Atlanta for his birthday.

The Star Tribune reports a Hennepin County District Judge ruled Stacey Champion mentally incompetent and dismissed the case. Champion was facing an animal cruelty misdemeanor for allegedly trying to ship a poodle-Schnauzer mix to Georgia through the U.S. Postal Service in January 2011.