Assante gets fine and three months

MILFORD — A 2006 animal cruelty case that shocked Pike animal activists concluded Jan. 3 when Judge Joseph Kameen sentenced 23-year-old animal trainer Danielle Assante to three months in the Pike County Jail and a fine of $600. Nine of twelve pet animals boarded at Assante’s Birchwood Lakes residence were found dead in May of 2006. Assante left them unattended during a three week absence, even though community gate records showed she had returned to the community to visit a boyfriend during the period.