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WRENTHAM - A Norfolk woman charged with animal cruelty has been ordered to spend up to 30 days in an alcohol treatment facility as part of her probation on an unrelated matter.

Patricia King, of 65 Mirror Lake Ave., was ordered to the Women's Addiction Treatment Center in New Bedford as part of an agreement between prosecution and defense attorneys and King's probation officer.

Dr. Frederick Kelso evaluated King at the request of the probation department and told Judge Warren Powers that sending King to a treatment facility would be the best course of action.

King is charged with not seeking timely medical care for Buddy, her 11-month-old German sheperd mix who suffered a broken leg, as well as depriving the animal of food and water and keeping him in an unsafe environment.

Authorities have said Buddy was beaten with a baseball bat, but charges against King did not specifically say she beat the dog. Police also charged King with illegal possession of a prescription drug.

According to Ludger Veer, King's attorney, the charges against his client have been "very much overblown."

"She loves her dog," Veer said, adding that King groomed the dog and kept him up-to-date on immunizations.

"She had water in the house, she had food in the house," he said.

Veer said someone other than King injured the dog at a home in Attleboro on Nov. 5. He said King brought the animal to the Countryside Veterinary Clinic in Wrentham, where an X-ray was taken and she was given painkillers and told to bring the dog back for surgery within three to five days.

On Thursday, the clinic was unable to confirm if King had brought the dog in for care. Attleboro police said there was no record of the incident Ludger alluded to in their logs and they were not investigating the matter.

Norfolk Animal Control Officer Hilary Cohen said she discovered Buddy after responding to a tip on Nov. 6 that a dog at King's home had a broken leg and needed surgery, but wasn't being treated, police said.

Cohen obtained a warrant and the town seized Buddy, who has started rehabilitation following surgery for a severely broken leg, police said. Police said they don't know yet if the puppy will need a second surgery.

On Thursday, Cohen said Buddy is recovering from surgery and has been able to go outside and enjoy the fresh air.

"I visited him today and he was doing really well," she wrote in an e-mail. "He will have a long road of recovery but he's doing wonderfully with it." Cohen added that the town has received so many donations that the dog's financial needs have already been met.

King is due back in court on Dec. 5, and Veer said his client will fight the charges.

"These are only accusations," he said. "She'll have her day in court."

MATT KAKLEY can be reached at 508-236-0333 or at mkakley@thesunchronicle.com.