TITUSVILLE, Fla. -- An 83-year-old Titusville woman is ready to put up the fight of her life to be able to keep her little dog by her side. The state of Florida has fined the elderly businesswoman more than $5,000 for letting her small dog wander around her barbershop, even though there hasn't been a single complaint and the pooch has been there for six years.

Lucey Higginbotham, or Satey as her friends call her, has been cutting hair in Titusville since 1965. She said she's had a little dog beside her for 21 years and isn't going to stop now just because the state says she has to.

If Snoopy didn't get up and walk around from time to time, you might never know the difference between the 6-year-old Yorkshire and the clumps of hair that fall on the floor in Satey's barber shop.

"You see how much trouble he causes? There's none," Satey said.

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That was, until a state inspector spotted her and started fining Higginbotham. The Department of Business and Professional Regulations says it's against the law to keep the tiny canine in the business.

Twice Higginbotham paid the $200 fine to keep Snoopy around. Then she was sent a third fine for $5,100.

"I told my children, before I will pay that $5,000, they can just put my a** in jail. I said, 'cause that's the way I feel. If that's the way it is, that's the way it's going to be," she said.

Higginbotham and her daughter Dorothy said it would mean the end of their business; they don't make enough to pay the fine. Customers and friends have started a collection.

"Unless they lock the door and I don't have the key, I will always keep her in here. My customers are happy with her. I'm happy with her," she said.

And the mother-daughter duo vow not to give up on their business or their Snoopy.

Late Friday afternoon, a spokesperson for the Department of Business and Professional Regulations said having animals in an establishment is a safety and sanitation concern. The barber board has not yet reviewed or finalized the fine in the case.