The Bend animal shelter founder arrested in August 2017 on numerous neglect charges will avoid prison.

Jeannette Bonomo, co-founder of the High Desert Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation Center, was sentenced last week in Deschutes County Circuit Court for providing substandard care to animals housed at her shelter.

Judge Wells Ashby assigned Bonomo 24 months of monitoring by the court and 80 hours of community service, along with a provision to not possess wildlife or engage in wildlife rehabilitation.

Bonomo, 44, and shelter co-founder Jeffrey Dean Cooney, were arrested in August 2016 following a yearlong investigation by state officials into accusations of neglect. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife had been tipped off by former volunteers of the facility, located at a converted residence on Neff Road in northeast Bend.

Authorities described poor conditions for the shelter’s animals — primarily birds — including enclosures too small for inhabitants and inadequate food and water. Animals were seized and either relocated to other shelters or euthanized.

Cooney still faces 19 counts of second-degree neglect. He is scheduled for trial next month.

Editor’s note: This article has been corrected. The original version misspelled Jeannette Bonomo’s name due to incorrect information provided to The Bulletin. In addition, it misstated the date of her charges. The Bulletin regrets the errors.