No Delay for Boone County Dog Breeder’s Trial as October Date Holds

A Boone County judge has turned down a request to push back the trial of a Columbia dog breeder accused of one of the county’s most disturbing animal-abuse cases in recent memory.

Melissa Sanders, 26, of Columbia, ran Magnum Opus German Shepherds, a breeding and boarding operation in Boone County. She’s charged with 13 felony counts and one misdemeanor count of animal abuse, according to KOMU 8 and ABC 17 News. The charges followed a search warrant served at her property in November 2025, when investigators found a dozen dog skulls along with multiple dead and malnourished dogs — including at least two described as “on the brink of death,” per ABC 17.

Sanders’ attorney, from the firm Rosenblum, Schwartz & Fry, asked Judge Joshua Devine for more time to review the evidence, interview witnesses, and potentially bring in a forensic veterinary expert. Devine denied the request Monday, calling it premature — he noted 70 days remained before trial and pointed to scheduling constraints on the court’s calendar, KOMU reported. The case is set for trial the week of October 19, with a pretrial conference scheduled for September 8 at 9:30 a.m.

Sanders remains held at the Boone County Jail without bond. At a bond hearing in May, her defense argued she wasn’t a flight risk because of her Boone County roots; prosecutors countered that she has connections across the U.S. and potentially Europe, according to ABC 17 — a reflection of how far Magnum Opus’s customer base reportedly reached. The outlet also reported Sanders has been sued by dog owners nationwide and abroad.

For a county that includes plenty of small breeders and hobby kennels, the case has drawn attention less for any single detail than for its scale — the original complaint reportedly ran to 29 felony counts before it was narrowed to the 13 now heading to trial. Nothing about guilt or innocence has been decided; Sanders has not entered a guilty plea, and the trial itself is still two months out.

The Rocheport Times will follow the case as it moves toward the October trial date.