MOSCOW — A Latah County couple pleaded not guilty Wednesday to 12 counts of animal cruelty in a case involving multiple dead dogs.

Princeton residents James and Jeannine Schraufnagel face up to six months in jail and thousands of dollars in fines for each misdemeanor count if they receive the maximum sentence. Latah County Magistrate Judge Sunil Ramalingam said those penalties could increase if they are charged again in the future.

A crowd of people attended the Schraufnagels’ arraignment hearing Wednesday, including members of the Idaho Animal Rescue Network (IARN).

The Lewiston-based organization notified police about the starving dogs allegedly belonging to the defendants after James Schraufnagel’s mother, Beth Davis, offered to surrender the dogs to IARN.

Davis was also charged with one count of animal cruelty. Her arraignment is set for Monday.

The Latah County Sheriff’s Office investigated the McKinneyville Road property belonging to Davis on Jan. 5 after receiving a call from the IARN.

One dog was found dead inside Davis’ home, according to IARN, and another was found dead in an outside kennel. Starvation is likely the cause of death.

According to court records, many of the dogs were allegedly found chained to outside kennels and standing in feces.

A total of 10 dogs were removed from the property, including two redbone coonhounds named Roscoe and Ruby.

Despite receiving care at Viking Veterinary Hospital in Moscow, Roscoe eventually died from severe pneumonia.

Jenna Redheart, director of IARN, said Wednesday that Ruby is in a foster home and is improving.

The other dogs were taken to the Humane Society of the Palouse in Moscow. Sierah Beeler, director of the humane society, said the eight young dogs at the shelter are doing well and have gained a combined 61 pounds since being rescued. Two of them have already gone to foster homes. Beeler thanked the community for donating food and supplies to the shelter recently.

Redheart was at Wednesday’s arraignment with other IARN supporters wearing shirts with Roscoe and Ruby’s pictures on them.

She said they wanted to show support for the prosecution and are hoping to get “real results” from the court.

Michel Terry, who is the prosecutor in the case, told the Moscow-Pullman Daily News on Jan. 14 that despite the seriousness of the crime, it still does not rise to the level of a felony in Idaho. He said the county is limited to charging the defendants with misdemeanors.