Two months after dog breeder Linda Kapsa was ordered to remove all but a few animals from her property east of Billings, she has done so, officials said on Wednesday.

Volunteers removed a goat, four horses and more than a dozen dogs from Kapsa's place in Ballantine over the weekend.

"She knew she needed help, and she allowed us to help," said Emily Reihing, one of the volunteers.

A District Court judge ruled in August that Kapsa could have no more than three dogs, four horses, 20 chickens and 10 goats. The order came after Kapsa pleaded no contest to aggravated animal cruelty.

During two raids last year, county officials seized more than 200 dogs and some other animals from her 10-acre property.

Kapsa was given a 20-year suspended sentence and ordered to pay $50 a month during that time to partially reimburse Yellowstone County for the $200,000 it spent caring for the seized dogs.

The judge also gave her 60 days from the date of her sentencing to remove all but the permitted number of animals from her property. A visit by Kapsa's probation officer Wednesday morning confirmed that she had followed the order.

"She is in compliance with the court," said Chris Evans, a probation and parole supervisor.

The horses, goat and dogs are in foster homes and could stay in them indefinitely, Reihing said. Kapsa wants the animals back, and she hopes an appeal will eventually allow that.

Kapsa has maintained that she and the animals were mistreated by county officials.

"If the county only would have let those kind of people help before," Kapsa said, referring to the volunteers who removed animals over the weekend. "But they wouldn't."

The volunteers were local animal advocates who reached out to Kapsa. They found the dogs and horses to be in good health, and there was plenty of food and water available for them, Reihing said.

In addition to collecting the extra animals, the volunteers fixed fences and performed other chores to make Kapsa's place more livable for her and her remaining pets.

"Linda Kapsa is not a demon," Reihing said. "She's not a monster. She's an old woman who was left alone. She did hoard, and I'm not defending that. But (when she needed help), nobody came."

Contact Diane Cochran at dcochran@billingsgazette.com or 657-1287.

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