South Dakota woman faces animal cruelty charges

TEWKSBURY - A South Dakota woman has pleaded not guilty to leaving two cats and more than a dozen dogs in a van outside a motel for nearly six hours on a day when temperatures reached the high 80s.

Margot Nickerson-Malpher, of Sioux Falls, S.D., was ordered held Wednesday on $1,000 cash bail by a Lowell District Court judge on 18 counts of animal cruelty. The judge also ordered the 71-year-old not to possess any animals.

Tewksbury police said they found the animals in the hot van with windows cracked open. Police say some of the animals had trouble walking and some were hosed down before being taken to veterinary hospitals.

Nickerson-Malpher told police she was driving from Maine back to South Dakota.

A pre-trial conference is scheduled for Aug. 9.

Information from: The Sun, http://www.lowellsun.com