This article originally appeared in the July 2, 2017 edition of the Ames Tribune.

An Ames woman charged with animal cruelty is trying to recover her other cats and dogs after being arrested for allegedly killing a puppy while performing surgery on it herself in her home.

Under current state law, she might get them back.

Ames police arrested Sarah Diane McMenamin, 26, two weeks ago after being alerted by Iowa State University VetMed and a private veterinarian in town that she may not get her gravely ill 2 1/2-month-old mixed breed dog proper care.

According to police, McMenamin admitted to officers that she had attempted to perform surgery on her dog in the living room using tongs and a paring knife.

Authorities returned to her house later after discovering McMenamin offered in-home dog care services on Facebook last year, and at the urging of animal control.

They found three dogs, two cats, seven rabbits, five guinea pigs, two salamanders and two geckos living in improper environments, with some in living in several inches of their own solidified urine and feces.

Ames Animal Shelter director Ron Edwards said McMenamin has not signed away ownership over the five cats and dogs seized from her home and wants to get them back. He said he has been trying to persuade McMenamin to cede control of her pets to the shelter so they can be adopted by others.

Currently, Ames Animal Control can seize cats and dogs from pet owners if they are deemed to be in improper living conditions, but can return pets to their owners once they verify the animal would return to a livable environment.

Edwards, who is originally from California, said his home state’s policies would make it much more difficult for people convicted of animal crimes to recover their pets or acquire new ones.

“There’s just stricter laws, much more focused on animal welfare in California compared to here,” he said.

He said shelter officials will work with McMenamin to make sure her home reaches city standards for pet ownership before returning her animals, but can keep the animals until they verify her property is safe again.

“We’re not going to release these animals into anything close to what they were living in before,” he said. “We’re kind of in this holding pattern between getting legal information and getting them to clean up the house.”

Iowa’s lack of pet ownership bans places it among the worst states in the country in terms of animal protection. In a 2016 report, the Animal Legal Defense Fund named Iowa the second-worst state for animal protection, partially because the state does not force those convicted of animal abuse to forfeit their animals or prevent them from owning animals later.

However, there are efforts underway to increase penalties for animal neglect or abuse cases. Senate File 421, introduced during the last legislative session, would stiffen existing penalties for cruelty towards companion animals and give judges discretion to ban those found guilty of owning pets for three years.

State Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, and sponsor of the bill, said it made it through the Senate Judiciary Committee, which he chairs, but did not advance further than that.

He said the the file is currently eligible for full Senate debate in the next legislative session, and he has already asked Senate leadership to bring the bill to the floor next year.

Zaun, who is also a former member of the Iowa Animal Rescue League’s board of directors, expects the bill to see broad bipartisan support next year among legislators, but potential opposition from agricultural interests.

“The biggest roadblock I run into is people in the agricultural community concerned about this bill having an effect on livestock,” he said.

Dave Struthers, a hog farmer from Collins and past president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association, said the lack of clarity over what constitutes a companion animal would lead to a slippery slope that would make it more difficult to run livestock operations.