Cindy Rena Jakobson, of Chester, MD, entered a guilty plea in the Queen Anne’s County District Court on April 6, 2026, to 4 counts of Animal Cruelty, failure to provide sufficient food, drink or care, which is punishable by up to 90 days incarceration and/or a $1,000 fine. Jakobson received a 90-day suspended jail sentence and was placed on 18 months of unsupervised probation.

The convictions are based on an investigation that began on November 27, 2025, when the Queen Anne’s County Sheriff’s Department and Animal Control responded to Jakobson’s residence for a report of a deceased dog on the property. Officers located the deceased dog, noting it was abnormally thin and showed signs of neglect. The Officers also located three additional dogs at the property that were alive and confined in separate crates. Officers noted that these dogs had no food or water, feces and urine were present in and around the crates, and all dogs appeared emaciated. The Officers removed the dogs from the property.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorney Jessica Davidson.