Local animal care nonprofit head found guilty in animal cruelty case

A local woman who heads up an animal care nonprofit was found guilty on Thursday on a misdemeanor animal-cruelty charge related to an incident reported in Albemarle County last year.

Hannah Lynn Haught, 25, was given a 30-day suspended sentence in the case, which was heard in Albemarle County General District Court.

Haught, who also goes by the name Cyrene Galena Elleri Brummage, was initially arrested on Nov. 6, 2025, after the Albemarle County Police Department Animal Protection Unit opened an animal cruelty investigation into an incident that occurred in October 2025 in Albemarle County, per a spokesperson for the Albemarle County PD.

That first charge was initially nolle prosequi – in English, the charge was dropped – on a technicality, the spokesperson said.

Following the advice of the Albemarle County Commonwealth Attorney’s office, a new warrant was obtained through the local magistrate’s office, the spokesperson said.

Haught had relocated to Waynesboro, and was served with the fresh warrant on the new animal cruelty charge by the Waynesboro Police Department in May, the spokesperson told us.

Online court records list her as now living in Charlottesville.

Haught heads up a nonprofit that goes by the name A Cat Lady in Training, which lists a 1050 B St., Waynesboro, mailing address, on its nonprofit paperwork.

The Facebook page for A Cat Lady in Training gives its history as dating to 2019, with the stated goals “to help the feral population, take in animals that are all shapes and sizes, not discriminate (against) an animal based on special needs or age, to raise awareness on things like FIV and herpes, which makes cats harder to adopt out, and to even help reptiles or small animals if needed.”

Haught was the subject of a 2023 profile on the local TV station WHSV-ABC3 detailing how she got into animal care as a college student “volunteering some of her time at a local animal shelter,” and reporting that “her ultimate goal is to become a service dog trainer.”

To that end, Haught also offers dog training services under the business name Drogo’s Purpose Dog Training; the website for that business describes Haught as an “experienced pet trainer in Charlottesville, VA, and surrounding areas.”