An ISU zoology professor skirted a possible jail sentence by pleading guilty to two counts of animal neglect on Thursday.

Before his trial, Joseph Viles, assistant professor of zoology, agreed to plead guilty and allow the judge to impose a sentence. He was given two $50 fines.

On July 8, Viles left two dogs in his car in front of the Story County Courthouse. The temperature reached 85 degrees Fahrenheit that day and a witness reported seeing one dog trying to escape from the car.

Viles said he did nothing wrong that day, but that pleading guilty was a way to “cut our losses.”

Mark Greiner, Viles’ attorney, said it was cheaper to pay the fines than to go to trial. Greiner said Viles did not admit to any wrongdoing with this plea and he will not enter any statement to the court.

Viles said part of the reason he pleaded guilty was because it “avoids having the judge impose any additional conditions.”

“It was a simple misdemeanor,” said Assistant Story County Attorney Dan Rothman. “For the most part, it was the judge’s decision to go with a $50 fine.”

Rothman said a deal was proposed Thursday morning, though the state and Greiner have been in negotiations throughout the process.

“Based on the previous trial, the sentence was appropriate and there is nothing more that I wanted,” Rothman said.

Viles said the dogs were not in danger when he left them in his car. He said he was told to go outside and take care of the problem in his car, that the dogs were properly cared for, and he did have water available to them.

Greiner said he has pictures showing the bucket of water left for the dogs.

Viles also claimed Story County Attorney Steve Holmes leaves his dogs in a vehicle when he works in the courthouse.

“I heard about it through the grapevine,” Viles said.

On Wednesday, Judge Stephen VanMarel quashed a subpoena requiring Holmes to testify in Viles’ defense.

This was not the first time Viles has been in court on animal neglect charges.

“Between 1995 and 1999, we had at one time or another filed 30 different charges against [Viles],” said Judy Parks, Ames city attorney, according to staff reports.

On Sept. 3, Viles was found guilty of animal neglect after he was accused of beating his dog, Sweetheart.

In that case, he was sentenced with a 30-day suspended sentence, a $500 fine and no more than one year of probation. He is also no longer allowed to own or maintain dogs in Iowa.

Rothman said he accepted the guilty plea on this case and not the Sept. 3 case because the defendant “must admit a factual basis to the crime.”

Viles said he has not owned dogs in Ames since 1999 and has been running his breeding business remotely.

“There’s a court order on file that forbids me to have dogs,” Viles said. “It’s the price of cutting your losses.”

He said he does not own any dogs out of the state and doing so would be too expensive.

“My kennel equipment is gone and the only thing I have left to turn over is my breeding records,” Viles said. He said that information should be turned over to officials by next week.

Two of Viles’ dogs are being held in the Ames animal shelter.

“It is the state’s intention to file a petition to keep the dogs,” Rothman said. He said the state would put the dogs up for sale.

Greiner said it is his understanding that if the dogs are not released, they will eventually be put down.

“Mr. Viles loves his dogs,” Greiner said.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) sent a letter to Rothman asking that Viles be treated as “a serial animal abuser with little or no regard for the lives and suffering of animals in his care.”

Martin Mersereau, cruelty case worker for PETA, said “Viles demonstrates an alarming irresponsibility not usually associated with adulthood.

“He obviously has no business being anywhere near animals and the court did right by prohibiting Viles from owning them. We just hope he’ll comply this time,” Mersereau said.