The criminal trial of a Columbiana man accused of operating an unlicensed dog breeding operation will continue Friday.

Lonnie Watson, 66, was arrested in October on charges of animal cruelty after investigators confiscated 181 dogs from his Columbiana home. Representatives from the Shelby County Humane Society are calling the operation a &uot;puppy mill.&uot;

The trial for Conwill’s misdemeanor animal cruelty charge began last Friday, with testimony from veterinarians depicting the dogs’ health at the time they were brought to the Shelby County Humane Society.

Attorney Sonny Conwill, representing Watson, called a veterinarian. Prosecutors called a cruelty investigator from Auburn University, along with a veterinarian and the sheriff’s deputy that served the warrant for Conwill’s arrest.

Judge Ron Jackson continued the case at the end of the day Friday