The Associated Press reports a Northfield woman has been convicted on twelve counts of animal cruelty for drowning puppies.

A Dakota County jury ruled Friday on the charges against 62-year-old Dayna Bell, owner of Bell Kennels and Farm.

The criminal complaint said witnesses saw Bell drown the puppies in buckets of water or a swimming pool with cinder blocks tied to their necks.

Dakota County sheriff's deputies found 10 small dogs in a freezer after searching Bell Kennels in September of 2011.

The Pioneer Press reported in July 2012 that Bell told police she had drowned injured animals and she didn't know how the small dogs wound up in her freezer.

Defense attorney Bob Miller had planned to argue that the dogs were not pets, but "commercial animals," covered by different laws.

Bell is scheduled for sentencing Jan. 14. Miller says an appeal is likely.