Troy woman pleads not guilty to animal cruelty

A Troy woman accused of animal cruelty involving a dog pleaded not guilty to the offenses Monday in Lincoln County District Court.

Maygen Susann Reid, 38, is charged with two felonies and one misdemeanor. A felony conviction for animal cruelty may result in a two-year prison term while a misdemeanor conviction may result in a one-year term in the Lincoln County Detention Center.

Her next court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 29.

According to the probable cause statement filed by County Sheriff’s Deputy Anthony Smith, he spoke with the owner of a property on Aug. 27 on Twin Creek Drive in Troy. 

The owner had rented the property to Maygen Reid (Alyea) and that she had moved out on Aug. 23. The owner provided Deputy Smith with screenshots of correspondence between Reid and his wife. Reed allegedly said, “I’ll be out Wednesday (08-23-23). Anything left after that you can burn, bury or whatever.”

The owner’s concern was that Reid had allegedly abandoned a dog at the property. Deputy Smith went to the property and received permission to see if the dog was inside. When the officer entered the home, he said he was immediately met by a female Labrador type dog, yellow in color. It appeared to be blind.

Smith reported searching the house for any source of food or water, but didn’t find any for the animal. He also reported the only source of any liquid was an open toilet full of what appeared to be human feces.

Smith reported in his search for food and water that he found multiple rooms that appeared to have been used by one or more animals as an area to defecate.

“I believe these rooms have been used by the animal(s) to defecate in for quite a while, as some of the feces had already turned white,” Smith wrote. “Based upon my training and experience, I know that it normally takes around 6-9 weeks for animal feces to turn white as part of the decomposition process. Dog feces is also known to carry fecal bacteria, along with parasites and viruses that can be passed to humans and other animals.”

Smith met with Reid later on Aug. 27 and issued Reid citations for animal cruelty. He reported his reasoning for the citations, including knowing Reid was out of the house on Aug. 23 and the dog was still inside the house on Aug. 27. He also reported the dog was contained to the inside of the house, unable to exit, subjected to the hazardous conditions of a blind dog having to navigate through rooms full of feces and urine that could pose a risk to its health and safety.

Deputy Smith reported that Reid accepted her citation without issue and surrendered the dog to Lincoln County on Aug. 27.

According to court documents, Reid pleaded not guilty to the alleged offenses in Lincoln County Justice Court and requested a bench trial.

Reid has had encounters with law enforcement in the past.

She was cleared of shooting her ex-husband following a Nov. 12, 2022, incident.

According to the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, she had a warrant for her arrest in 2006 for writing a bad check.