Anastasia’s Acres owner sentenced to two years probation in Argyle dog death incident

Ben Westcott reports: Anastasia Palulis, owner of Anastasia’s Acres dog boarding in Argyle, was sentenced to two years probation Wednesday after pleading guilty in Argyle Town Court to misdemeanors in the deaths of 21 dogs left overnight at the facility with no water or ventilation in August 2025.

Magistrate Stacy Davis pronounced the sentence.

The misdemeanors were Overdriving, Torturing, and Injuring Animals; Failure to Provide Proper Sustenance.

Mrs. Palulis’s property will be monitored by dog control officers during the probation period, Magistrate Davis told The Chronicle. Additionally, Mrs. Palulis has to pay restitution to victims who submitted restitution requests for adoption fees of their dog, which her business insurance, Travelers Insurance, has agreed to cover.

Standing before Magistrate Davis Wednesday, Mrs. Palulis said, “I was solely responsible for the housing and day to day care of dogs at the facility. They were my responsibility, and for that I will be forever sorry.”

Before Mrs. Palulis’s statement, defense attorney Bill White said that his client “understands and speaks English fairly well, but not perfectly; she’s Russian.”

He said, “She’s reluctant to open up and speak freely” but “she has always wanted to say something at the right time.”

After Mrs. Palulis’s statement, Mr. White said, “She said she is forever sorry. She takes full responsibility. She always has.”

“It’s a tragedy that occurred, and it can’t be undone,” he said. “She went into this business because she loves dogs. Obviously things happen, mistakes were perhaps made.”

The attorney said Mrs. Palulis and Robert Palulis “really are sympathetic to what happened.”
“They have reached out to local, state, and federal experts about what to do so this doesn’t happen again somewhere else,” he said.

The prosecution did not proceed with charges against Mr. Palulis because Mrs. Palulis was the one “responsible for taking care of the dogs that night,” prosecuting attorney Taylor Fitzsimmons told The Chronicle.

“Mrs. Palulis took full responsibility for what happened and was sentenced accordingly,” he said.

“The probation sentence will make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

Owners of dogs that died whom The Chronicle talked to outside the courthouse after the ruling Wednesday were distraught by the verdict.

“I’m just so upset,” said Hudson Falls resident Leah Brown, whose silver lab Rex died in the incident. “I can’t even think right now.”

“Two years probation is nothing,” she said. As for the restitution, she said, “I don’t care about the money. I don’t want the money.”

Sherri Lochner of Granville, whose 1-year-old rescue, a mix named Daisy, also died, said, “I don’t feel that justice was given to the 22 dogs.” (In addition to the 21 dogs that perished, the one surviving dog required emergency medical treatment).

“She should not be allowed to operate a boarding facility moving forward,” Ms. Lochner said. “She knows better than to put them in that size of a kennel. She was greedy and stacked too many dogs into the size of a kennel.”
Danielle Barber, who lived in Glens Falls at the time of the incident but has since moved to South Carolina, had two dogs, Luna and Odin, die at Anastasia’s Acres. She heard the news of Wednesday’s verdict from her aunt, who attended the sentencing.

Ms. Barber messaged The Chronicle, “I feel like Anastasia still being able to open and run a business is a complete slap in the face to the victims. We have been nothing but calm and respectful through this entire process. Justice was not served at all.”

Outside the courthouse after the verdict, the Palulises and their supporters briefly congregated, exchanging hugs.
One supporter from Greenwich who requested anonymity told The Chronicle she had a dog at Anastasia’s Acres for two years, and the dog “never gave indication she felt uncomfortable.”

“To me, they are a life saver,” she said of the Palulises.

“I know for a fact they were extremely devastated by what happened,” she said. “There was no malicious intent or purposeful neglect. S*** happens. This could happen to anybody.”

[Photo: Anastasia Palulis, left, and Robert Palulis, right, hug supporters after Wednesday’s verdict.]