The owner of an Antioch dog training company faces up to 10 years in prison after being convicted this week on four felony counts of animal cruelty, according to the Contra Costa District Attorney's Office. Garry Reynolds, 39, was found guilty for the neglect of and unsuitable living conditions for four dogs left in his care. The jury in the case also found Reynolds not guilty on three counts of felony animal cruelty.
Antioch officials began investigating the case in 2018 after police received a report of a Doberman named Gunnar's death at a property Reynolds was renting.
When officers arrived at the property, they found rotten raw chicken meat in several dogs' kennels, urine and feces around the house and improper use of the house's ventilation system despite extremely warm weather in Antioch at the time.
Several dogs were also kept in small rooms or stacked kennels in the house's kitchen. Garbage littered the inside and outside of the house as well, according to the district attorney's office. In total, nine dogs were removed from the property.
"Garry Reynolds took advantage of his customers and his ownership style contributed to the maltreatment of these dogs and the horrible death of Gunnar," said Deputy District Attorney Arsh Singh, the case's prosecutor.
"The defendant claims to be a premier dog trainer yet showed no sign of remorse and did not accept responsibility for the dogs under his care."
Reynolds' former co-defendant in the case, Devon Ashby, took a misdemeanor animal cruelty plea deal in the case and would ultimately testify for the prosecution.
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Reynolds faces up to 10 years in state prison for the conviction and because he has prior strike offenses. Reynolds will be sentenced this spring.
