RALEIGH - Janie Conyers, from whom more than 100 animals were seized in October, said her house was overrun with poodles because she was boarding for a friend who'd gotten into trouble with Wake County officials.

An anonymous call led Wake County animal cruelty investigators to the home of Conyers, a champion AKC breeder, saying she had 106 dogs -- including 80 toy poodles -- living in squalor. Documents filed Monday in Wake County say that Conyers and the Animal Legal Defense Fund settled their case and that Conyers agreed, among other things, to never own or breed another animal.

"I think the fact that I was helping a friend out ... I think they were watching him, and they dreamed up this bogus story about somebody coming into my house, saying that my dogs were filthy," Conyers said Thursday afternoon. "... I only owned 37 puppies. They came in, and they took everything from my house."

The Animal Legal Defense Fund, a nonprofit group dedicated to preventing animal cruelty, is listed as a plaintiff on the motion. Also listed are Wake County and Kelli Ferris, an animal cruelty investigator who also works as a veterinarian with N.C. State University's College of Veterinary Medicine.

Ferris and another investigator visited Conyers' home, 8252 Holly Springs Road just south of Raleigh, on Oct. 19. The caller had said the home was filthy and crowded, which prompted the investigation. Investigators wrote on search warrants that the house was infested with roaches. Piles of feces were found in the home. According to documents related to the case, some animals were missing teeth, and their jaws had rotted away from lack of proper care.

Sandra Daussin, who owns three poodles bred by Conyers, said Thursday that she is appalled by the terms of the settlement offered to Conyers.

"She should at least be able to have one dog. She really loves them," Daussin said. "To say she was cruel or abusive to these animals, that's overkill. Big time."

Daussin said she and her husband, Fiji, bought Sophie, a female black-haired poodle, from Conyers in 2000. They later bought 4-year-old poodle Reuben and 2-year-old Muffin, a toy poodle. Conyers would care for the poodles when the family took trips. "I always felt better when they were at Janie's, because I knew she wasn't going to lose them or they wouldn't get hurt," she said.

Conyers said the 40 dogs she had been housing for Douglas Matney were the ones in poor condition. Matney was charged earlier this year with multiple counts of animal cruelty and neglect, according to court documents. He is no longer allowed to own animals in Wake County.

Conyers said she settled the case because of the dogs and the situation they would have been placed in.

"I had to agree to let them have my dogs," she said. "My dogs came first. But ... my heart is broken. It's so lonesome to be in this house. I don't have anything to live for. They took my life."