A Helena animal-rescue volunteer who accused the owner of Lassie’s Friends Animal Rescue in Athens of deceptively taking $500 to socialize three feral dogs only to have them euthanized has won her lawsuit against the local rescue, records show.

Limestone District Judge Jerry Batts ruled Wednesday in favor of Debbie Ohm, volunteer for Two By Two Rescue in Birmingham. He ordered Karen Morrow Johnson, the owner of Lassie’s Friends who had claimed the dogs were vicious, to pay Ohm $500 plus court costs.

Ohm presented her small claim in Limestone County District Court Aug. 6. Both Ohm and Johnson presented evidence and questioned witnesses in the daylong case.

Batts issued his ruling Tuesday and it was filed late afternoon Wednesday.

Johnson was given 14 days to appeal the ruling.

In his three-page written ruling, Batts made the following findings of fact:

Ohm transported the three dogs to Lassie’s Friends on Feb. 11 “with the understanding the dogs would be provided a home where they could live out their natural lives,” and that Ohm would have the dogs placed in another home if Johnson could no longer care for them,” Batts wrote. Johnson testified she had problems with the dogs almost immediately, and that “the evidence is in dispute as to the care and the state of the dogs during the four weeks they were alive at Lassie’s Friends Animal Sanctuary,” Batts wrote.

On Tuesday, April 7, Johnson notified Ohm that the dogs would be euthanized on Friday, April 10, if she did not make other arrangements, the judge states. However, on Wednesday, April 8, Johnson made an appointment with Dr. Wyatt Galbraith, a veterinarian in Pulaski, Tenn., to have the dogs euthanized on Thursday, April 9, he states.

A footnote at the bottom of the ruling states that Johnson “actually had four dogs euthanized on Thursday but only three of these dogs are the subject of this case.”

Johnson testified that Ohm agreed to the euthanization of the three dogs and that Ohm denied the claim, the judge states. Johnson offered a document she testified was signed by Ohm but which Ohm denied she had ever seen or signed, he states.

“The court did not admit the document into evidence due to the doubtful authenticity of the signature and the fact the document was dated five days before the volunteer arrived at the sanctuary with the dogs,” Batts wrote. “The defendant, in efforts to explain inconsistencies in the evidence, testified that everyone at the sanctuary had access to her e-mail account and anyone could have used her name and her e-mail account. In addition, the defendant in her testimony blamed a former employee that she testified had been fired by her for alleged ‘animal abuse.’”

Johnson testified that Ohms’ colleagues at Two By Two Rescue were told that, in certain cases, animals would be euthanized, which was a decision made by a committee, Batts wrote.

Ohm denied she was ever told in advance the dogs could be euthanized, and she contends, “it is illogical that volunteers of a rescue agency would donate their time and also drive hundreds of miles transporting dogs to a place where they could be euthanized,” the judge wrote.

In his ruling, Batts cites the mission statement of Lassie’s Friends, which Johnson admitted into evidence, which makes no mention of the possibility of euthanization. The statement reads:

“Our mission is to provide a loving and safe haven for all creatures that need our care. We want to give the love they need to feel safe, the food and medicine to be healthy, and the help essential to return their spirits to a place that knows the love of God and caring people.

We try to find loving homes for all the animals that come to us, or keep them safe with us when a good home is not available for them. We also promote responsible animal guardianship via spay/neuter and respect and love for all the animals on this planet.”

In finding for Ohm, Batts wrote that she “reasonably relied upon the representations of the defendant (Johnson) that Lassie’s Friends was a sanctuary for pets and that the dogs would be cared for and protected.”

He noted that Ohm paid Johnson “to provide a safe home for the dogs” and that Johnson “accepted the money and the dogs.”