PRINCE GEORGE, Va. — A Prince George County woman says she was known for her lifelong love of animals. Today, she has animal cruelty and inadequate care convictions on her record and owes Prince George County tens of thousands of dollars.
"These are my babies," said Donna Newton, paging through a photo album of her pets.
"Everybody knew me as the Donna who loves dogs and cats ... that's my reason for existing, almost," Newton said. "It's the worst thing that ever happened, besides losing my son."
Donna Newton's property is zoned agricultural, which in 2024 legally licensed her to own up to 50 animals.
But by the evening of Sept. 3, 2024, all 30 of her dogs and 12 cats had been seized when she held a valid kennel license.
Two years later, she has animal cruelty convictions on her record and owes the county tens of thousands of dollars — including more than $28,000 in veterinary fees alone.
"I did nothing illegal," Newton said.
August 30, 2024: The recorded interaction
Newton decided to record an hour and 20 minutes of her interaction with Prince George Animal Control officers on Aug. 30, 2024. The officers were following up on a welfare check conducted eight days earlier, on Aug. 22, when they executed a search warrant. Court documents show Newton was also being investigated in connection with Facebook posts she shared of a friend's puppies.
In the recorded cell phone video, an animal control officer can be heard saying, "We don't want to be on the news. We don’t want the TV crew to come rolling up in here and be in your face. We don't want you to go to jail. We don't want your property to be seized from you. We don't want any of that.”
Newton had been given a written list of items that needed to be completed by that day, including getting some of her animals examined by a vet and up to date on rabies shots.
Officers also took pictures documenting the condition of the home and the need for adequate food and shelter.
In the video, Newton explained to the officers she had completed the list. "I did everything you said on the list," Newton said.
An animal control officer responded: "Okay, we can go back out there and I guess, come up with a game plan now."
But the officers pressed Newton repeatedly about her pregnant dachshund, which she had re-homed.
"We need to know where that dog went," an officer said in the video.
"What's the time frame that you can get the mom back?" another officer asked.
CBS 6 legal analyst Todd Stone said, "Clearly, they want to sort of intimidate her and compel her to give them what they want," Stone said. "She did not have to talk at all."
Despite an officer's assurance in the video — "We don't want to come in here and take your animals. We're not going to come do it all of a sudden" — that is exactly what happened four days later.
September 3, 2024: The seizure
According to a search warrant dated Sept. 3, 2024, all of Newton's animals were seized as part of an "illegally breeding" investigation.
Prince George County Acting Police Chief James Nicholas said it was part of a multi-jurisdictional criminal investigation. That investigation was never prosecuted.
Nicholas told CBS 6 it was was a legitimate investigation, but that "evidence, admissions, and other facts gathered during the course of this investigation simply did not develop to a level that would satisfy state code requirements for an illegal/commercial breeding charge."
The warrant cites Newton's failure to comply with correcting violations found on Aug. 22, but it acknowledges on the same page that she did comply with a "few" violations, which are not listed. The warrant also mentions she failed to surrender her pregnant dachshund as agreed upon.
CBS 6 obtained more than 700 documents in this case through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). One of those documents — an animal control note — states Newton ended communication with officers, and that is what left them no choice but to continue with legal action and the seizure of the animals.
Nicholas said the seizure was based on Newton's "inability to properly care for the animals or provide basic animal care to all." He cited sick kittens with draining eyes and apparent upper respiratory infections, not nearly enough dog houses for the number of dogs on site, and several dogs in need of grooming.
A veterinarian's assessment — the day before the seizure
Disputanta veterinarian Kim Eaton visited Newton's house the day before the animals were seized. A mutual friend had asked Eaton to help place some of the animals. Eaton said she had no ties to Newton.
"Citizens shouldn't have to fear that animal control can storm into your house, and they can come in and if they take your dog and if they find it had an ear infection, they can take all your animals," Eaton said. “She wasn't committing a crime, and she was trying to do what was right, and in the end, was wronged by a resource that really could have been helpful to her, and that's how animal control should be.”
She added, "They're going to argue that her house smelled, her house was a mess, it was small ... There was nothing alarming to me about any of the animals that I saw, just with a walk through and a hands on examination of a few, with the exception of the one dog that was down in the rear, or she was lame in the rear, and she had vet records that she was getting help."
That dog was Xena.
Xena: A dog who died in county custody
Vet records show Xena was seen for a chronic skin condition, weight loss and an ear infection a week before animal control's first welfare check. She was rechecked Aug. 29, 2024 as instructed by animal control.
According to an April 11, 2025, necropsy, Xena died weighing 60 pounds while in the custody of Prince George County Animal Services — a loss of 11 pounds from the day she was seized.
The Prince George County Police Department said Xena had complex pre-existing medical conditions when she was seized, that she was under veterinary care while in Animal Services' custody, and that she was provided a hydrolyzed Purina dog food formula recommended by her vet.
Nicholas said the primary veterinarian caring for Xena ultimately recommended euthanasia due to severe underlying gastrointestinal complications.
A post-mortem examination revealed severe ulcerative colitis, moderate enteritis, mild gastritis, intestinal parasitism, mild interstitial pneumonia, hepatitis, kidney disease, hemangioma and Eucoleus boehmi infection.
Xena was a 10-year-old German Shepherd.
The convictions
Newton was convicted Nov. 13, 2025, of one count of animal cruelty in Xena's case, two counts for an ear infection in a second dog that required sedation to treat, and two counts of inadequate care for two other dogs.
“It is not that unusual at all for a dog to have an ear infection and no one to know about it, and it's found at the veterinary office. That is very normal,” said Dr. Eaton.
French asked Dr. Eaton, “Does that justify animal cruelty?”
Dr. Eaton replied, “I don't think that it justifies taking somebody's animals. In fact, they didn't know that the dogs had an ear infection when they were taken.”
Eaton bathed, groomed, and treated two of the dogs that had been seized and were the subject of Donna's convictions — one involving animal cruelty and the other involving inadequate care.
Eaton documented their conditions while in the custody of the county.
"How can they charge me with animal cruelty on an ear infection when my dogs were so matted they had poop and feces and urine all over them," Newton said. "If they're gonna take them, at least take care of them. I don't know what happened to my other animals."
The Prince George County Police Department said the dogs involved were standard poodles, a breed known for intense grooming needs, and that the shelter did not staff a groomer or have any employee trained or certified to groom. The department said the shelter was at capacity at the time and that providing basic care — food, water, clean kennels and critical medical needs — was the priority.
Michelle Welch was appointed the special prosecutor in Newton’s case. Welch leads the Animal Law section at the Virginia Attorney General's Office. We reached out to the AOG’s office for comment on the case but have not heard back.
Abner: The dog the county lost
Our investigation uncovered that the county lost evidence in the case. According to FOIA documents, Newton's dog Abner was listed as "escaped" on Sept. 10, 2024 — one week after being seized.
According to a text Eaton provided to CBS 6 purportedly from one of the vets from whom Prince George Animal Services was renting boarding space, five of Newton's dogs dug out of an outdoor enclosure the county built. Four were recovered. Another record provided to CBS 6 through FOIA confirmed Abner was listed as "MIA."
FOIA documents show Abner was being housed in a "barn stall."
The Prince George County Police Department said kennel space at the shelter was severely limited at the time, and that housing Abner in the outdoor enclosure was an attempt to provide more space than a typical kennel.
The department said surrounding neighbors were consulted, a dog trap was set out and the neighboring jurisdiction was notified.
"I could have looked for him," Newton said, in tears. "He was 10 years old. He never slept outside a day in his life."
September 30, 2024: The appeal — and the texts that followed
Prior to her convictions, Newton appealed her case. To do so, she had to post a $10,000 bond.
Four days later, on Oct. 4, 2024, Prince George Animal Control Officer Amanda Griffith reached out to an animal control officer from another jurisdiction in a text exchange obtained by CBS 6 through the Freedom of Information Act.
The texts read in part:
- "Donna Newton appealed her case! She paid the $10,000 appeal bond!"
- "She's been posting for go fund mes on fb bring the blues because animal control took her babies (puke face emojis)"
- The other officer responded: "Yall are still charging more restitution by the day, right?"
- Griffith replied: "Oh absolutely."
- "She's going to be in so much debt after all this is over with and she still not gonna get her animals back. She's f---ing stupid."
Six days after that exchange, on Oct. 10, 2024, 168 charges were filed against Newton, four of them arrest warrants.
One month later, on Nov. 12, 2024, 160 of those charges were dismissed at the direction of Prince George County Police.
Nicholas said, “The charge count was not supported by command staff at the Police Department and ultimately remedied at the request of command staff through the Commonwealth Attorney's Office."
"Rarely does law enforcement need to charge 160 charges for a case like this," Stone said. "These tactics that the animal control agents used are pretty common tactics, but you see some of the text messages and things behind it, and it's definitely kind of sloppy, and there's some unprofessional things going on."
When asked about the texts, Nicholas said, "The Prince George County Police Department demands a high level of professionalism from all employees, regardless of circumstance. Fair and dignified service is non-negotiable."
Nicholas said, “Restitution is not for profit and exists simply to make the county 'whole' again in terms of operational expenses.” He added, “ The restitution costs were significantly lower than what could have been pursued."
The department declined to comment on whether disciplinary action was taken against Griffith, saying it does not comment on specific personnel matters.
October 16, 2025: The bond raised
The following year, Newton's appeal bond was raised to more than $44,000 for the cost to care for the animals — animals she says never should have been taken from her in the first place.
Where things stand
Newton dropped her appeal and has been paying the county monthly restitution.
Her next court appearance is Thursday, July 16. She was sentenced to 12 months in jail with all time suspended and has a three dog ban. The dogs were returned to her before she was ever charged.
“Nobody would ever give back an animal to somebody that you're going to charge with animal cruelty. I mean, that doesn't even make sense. You don't do that,” said Dr. Eaton. “You let the judge decide what the punishment is going to be, but your job is to protect the animal and take it out of the situation or the conditions that it's in ... in this particular case, they took the animals, then gave some back, and then tried to pursue the multitude of things they were trying to charge her with and if this one didn't work, they changed to another one, then it changed to another one, until they could finally find something that they could take her to court about.”
The Prince George County Police Department said the animal services manager in 2024 resigned on her own accord and that a police lieutenant was moved to the shelter to manage animal services during the search for a new manager.
Prince George Animal Services has implemented a new Notice to Comply form to manage welfare check and seizure situations, tracking concerns, violations, time frames and communication between animal control staff and animal owners. The department said animal services is now under new supervision.
The current Animal Services Manager, Rob Leinberger, was hired in July 2025. Within his first three months, the shelter completed a Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services inspection resulting in 100% compliance with all standards.
A special prosecutor reviewed the case but did not seek criminal charges.
"I've never in my life seen somebody get their animals taken for the minor things that she was found guilty of,” said Dr. Eaton. “The other problem with the court case was, is that the judge and the prosecutor, they, because it was animal cruelty charges at that point, a lot of the information that was background information to the wrong of all this was never allowed to be discussed and never allowed to be brought up, and so the judge really didn't get to hear much of the whole story of how this operation of seizure went down,” she added.
”This [Newton] case resulted in several criminal convictions in court, and the seizure was upheld by the courts,” Nicholas said.
"The Prince George County Police Department is a highly regarded police agency, and we have a long-established track record of exceptional service delivery to the Prince George County community.
"I'll never, ever, ever get over this," Newton tearfully said.
CBS 6 will have more on Newton’s missing dog Abner and what we’ve learned about the state investigation that was going on at the Prince George Animal Services Shelter at the time of the Newton investigation in the weeks ahead.
Watch for Laura French's reporting on CBS 6 and WTVR.com. Have a story idea or tip for Laura? Email her.
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