A Columbia Falls man has pleaded not guilty for the second time to a pair of felony charges for cruelty to animals.

Kent Petry, 64, entered the pleas July 11 in Flathead District Court. Petry is alleged to have kept a pair of horses that, when reported on Dec. 22, 2012, were in a corral containing horse feces a foot deep.

According to a court document, one of the horses was down and was witnessed trying to get up and failing. When the horses were examined by a veterinarian, it was determined that they required immediate transport and veterinary care.

Both horses had to have the feces cleaned off in order for the extent of their injuries to be determined.

The court document stated that the downed horse was in such bad shape that it drank 7 1/2 gallons of water before he was removed from the corral and an additional five gallons after his removal. It had an injury to its hind leg that made it shift its weight between both hind legs constantly.

Removing the downed horse from the corral also took the assistance of member of the Badrock Fire Department.

The second horse was found to have issues with its hooves.

In the first three weeks alone, the horses required constant veterinary care with a bill exceeding $4,000. An order for euthanization of evidence was approved and the downed horse was euthanized roughly one month later.

Petry previously faced the same charges for the same alleged incident, but was offered a deferred prosecution agreement and the case was dismissed with the opportunity to be refiled at a later date. It was because Petry violated that agreement less than three weeks later that the case was refiled.

Flathead County Deputy Attorney Ken “Rusty” Park declined to comment on how Petry violated the agreement, only confirming that he had.

If convicted of both charges, Petry faces up to three years with the Montana Department of Corrections, a fine of up to $3,500, veterinary costs, ongoing care costs, and limits on whether he may own animals or what kinds of animals he may own to last the entirety of the sentence.

Petry was originally incarcerated in the Flathead County Detention Center on a bond of $30,000, but he was later released after posting a reduced bond of $10,000.

His next hearing is set for Sept. 18.