The woman accused of running an unlicensed dog kennel may not have to serve any jail time.
Anne-Marie Green faced a total of 16 animal cruelty charges – one of which was for the death of a Rottweiler named Goober. Now, prosecutors say they don’t have enough evidence to prove all of the charges against her.
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The state previously cited Green for running an unregistered animal shelter, Green Meadow Kennels, with unsanitary conditions and insufficient space and food for the dogs.
Franklin County deputies arrested Green in 2024 and seized more than 20 dogs from her care.
“There were some mental health concerns that the state had with respect to that case,” District Attorney Mike Waters told WRAL Investigates. “We are understanding that she’s getting treatment…but we never had evidence that she intended to harm these animals.”
Court records from July show prosecutors dropped the charge related to Goober’s death.
“The state cannot prove count one due to lack of evidence showing the defendant's actions resulted in the death of Goober,” the dismissal note reads.
Citing the necropsy report, Waters said Goober died from a distended stomach.
“I think the challenge that the state had in this case is, number one, there was absolutely no evidence of any intentional torture or act of harming the animal,” Waters said. “This was always an animal neglect case, and it would be up to the state to show that this neglect rose to the level of torture, and that's a high burden.”
According to court records, prosecutors agreed to deferred prosecution for all other charges last month. Charges will be dropped if she completes certain requirements: a mental health assessment, community service and up to two years of probation. At least one of those probationary years will be supervised. She cannot possess any animals other than a service animal.
“It's egregious what she did…and she should be locked up or worse,” Eric Kim said. “How do you reconcile that with a potentially innocent woman?”
Kim fostered a white pit bull named Relish. He was one of the dogs from Georgia seized from Green Meadow Kennels by authorities in Franklin County.
“[Relish's leg] was swollen to, I would say without exaggeration, like twice its size. You could tell that there was pain,” Eric Kim told WRAL Investigates back in 2024. “He also had visible scars or wounds ... on his face. His eye was like almost closed up.”
Kim shared photos with WRAL Investigates that show the injuries he described. However, Waters said the injuries predate Green’s care.
“It is the facts, as we understand them from the investigation, that these dogs were involved in dogfighting, that they then were transferred to an animal rescue, and when that animal rescue went defunct, that this defendant took them in,” Waters said. “At that point, she was not able to care for them adequately. But there's never been any evidence that she intentionally injured or otherwise did anything to these dogs.”
Volunteers previously told WRAL Investigates that several dogs in an Atlanta-area animal shelter were being put in the care of Arcadia Animal Rescue, based in South Carolina, to prevent euthanasia. Those dogs would then either be fostered out to homes or sent to Green’s facility, Green Meadow Kennels, until they could find a foster or permanent adoption home.
“How this person came into possession of these animals, I think they had good intentions. I think that they essentially bit off a lot more than they can chew, and they weren't able to ever reasonably take care of the animals that they had,” Waters said. “Certainly, there were some mental health concerns…and as a result, we are understanding that she's getting treatment as far as that goes, but we never had evidence that she intended to harm these animals.”
WRAL Investigates reached out to Green’s attorney to ask why she held all of those dogs back in 2023-24, what caused the injuries to the dogs, and her message to the animal advocates and foster parents who cared about the dogs and their well-being.
Her attorney said they would not comment until the case is completely over.
“The defendant certainly did things to evade accountability…My message would be that if you have dogs and you're not able to take care of more animals, then you need to reach out to animal control and try to make arrangements to have those animals taken or otherwise get the care that they need,” Waters said.
Resources to protect your pet and others
Click here to visit the NC Department of Agriculture Animal Welfare Section. This is where you can file a complaint, learn more about the Animal Welfare Act and find other helpful pet-related links.
Click here to search boarding licenses from the last four years. Under "License Group/Division," select "Veterinary – 3rd Floor – Animal Welfare" from the drop-down options, then select your county in the advanced search or search by facility name.