A Julian man who ran an unlicensed animal care facility has been sentenced after a jury convicted him of six misdemeanor counts tied to the death of a dog in his custody and the neglect of other animals under his watch. Nelson Andres Zepeda, 44, operated Urban Feline, where a dog named Roble died while supposedly undergoing behavioral training.
Zepeda was convicted in August of six misdemeanor counts involving animal abuse, neglect and failure to provide necessary care, according to danewscenter.com. The outlet reports that Urban Feline was an unlicensed holistic animal care facility run by Zepeda in Julian, and that the case against him began after a 2025 complaint about the animals in his care.
The San Diego County Department of Animal Services received that complaint in April 2025, flagging dogs and cats at the facility with untreated health problems and signs of significant weight loss, the report states. Photographs later presented in the case showed a substantial decline in Roble's health over roughly a year while the dog was in Zepeda's custody for behavioral training, per the same account.
Eight Animals Removed From the Facility
Animal Services ultimately seized eight animals from Urban Feline — four dogs and four cats — as the investigation into conditions at the facility unfolded, the article notes. Roble did not survive. Separately, ksdy50.com reports that Roble's owner was not informed when the dog's condition worsened or after the dog had died.
According to the seed post from the San Diego County District Attorney's office
, Roble's owner gave an emotional victim impact statement at the sentencing. District Attorney Summer Stephan said in a statement that her office takes allegations of animal cruelty seriously and will work with law enforcement partners to investigate suspected abuse, per the same danewscenter.com report.
Terms of the Sentence
As part of the sentence, Zepeda was ordered to surrender the animals that had been seized, pay restitution and custody costs, and complete mental-health and animal-cruelty program requirements. He was also ordered to see a psychologist or psychiatrist and follow their recommendations, take an animal cruelty class, and he is now barred from having animals for five years, the report states.
The case adds to a string of animal-welfare matters that have drawn scrutiny in the Julian area recently. Earlier this year, the Julian property known as Villa Chardonnay was the site of a large-scale rescue effort involving hundreds of animals, described by the San Diego Humane Society as the biggest rescue cruelty case the organization has worked on in its 146-year history, according to KPBS. Nothing in the available record ties that sanctuary case to Zepeda or Urban Feline.
San Diego County Animal Services had fielded complaints about the Villa Chardonnay operation dating back to 2020, and the sanctuary's animal population reportedly doubled from 300 in 2020 to 600 by 2024, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported. A San Diego Superior Court judge later transferred ownership of the removed animals to the Humane Society following a search warrant, according to NBC San Diego, though that outlet reported the property's owner was not facing charges at the time. KPBS has reported that the Humane Society's investigation findings would be forwarded to the District Attorney, who would decide whether criminal charges in that separate case were warranted.
