Anne Sullivan, 53, of La Plata, pleaded guilty this week to five counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty after being accused in January of neglecting several horses and llamas, some of which later died, and was ordered to serve five years on probation, the Farmington Daily Times reported.

She was originally charged with 10 counts of maliciously torturing an animal, fourth-degree felonies, but the District Attorney's Office chose not to seek jail time, in part to ensure that Sullivan would have the means to pay restitution, the Daily Times said.

That restitution includes about $2,000 for the animals' rescue and nearly $7,000 in veterinarian's bills, the paper reported.

"The defendant will not own any sort of animal -- I mean anything, not even a goldfish -- for that period of (probation) time," state District Judge Bill Birdsall said in pronouncing sentence on Tuesday.

Sullivan told the judge she had gone to California to take care of an ill family member and left the animals in the care of a neighbor, and while she heard that the animals were not being fed and watered, she chose not to return immediately, according to the Daily Times.

An animal control officer who testified at the sentencing hearing called Sullivan an animal hoarder, who collects animals but fails to care for them, the Daily Times reported.

"This is not her first rodeo," said Coni Jordan, who said San Juan County animal control has had contact with Sullivan for many years over treatment of her animals, the paper said.

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