Topsfield Women Want State to Return Animals
Bangor Daily News
www.bangornews.com
September 17, 2004 CALAIS, MAINE - A District Court judge on Thursday said he would take under advisement a request by two Topsfield women that their two cats and 31 dogs be returned to them. Last month, the state seized the cats and dogs after allegations arose that the two women had failed to provide proper medical care and had forced the animals to live in unsanitary conditions.
Judge John Romei did not say when he planned to issue his ruling.
Melinda Piche on Thursday denied that her dogs were forced to live in unsanitary conditions.
She also testified that when she learned of the dogs' worm problems she sought a Houlton veterinarian's advice.
The state began its investigation in February after it received a complaint from a woman whose daughter had purchased a shepherd puppy from the women for $280.
An affidavit on file with the court said the dog was missing hair, was dirty and had worms.
On Feb. 9, state humane agent Jennifer Howlett went to Piche and Jaclyn Hager's residence. She issued a notice to comply after she found problems with some of the animals.
The state returned again in July.
In August, state humane officers executed a search warrant and seized the cats and dogs.
Piche said during earlier testimony that she raised huskies that were working sled dogs and Hager owned Labradors, Great Danes and shepherds.
On Thursday, Piche said a Houlton veterinarian had advised her to use a horse medication to deworm her dogs. She said the veterinarian told her one click of the medicine tube was sufficient to begin the deworming process. She said she was in the process of deworming the dogs for hookworms, whipworms and roundworms when the animals were seized by the state.
Addressing the issue of unsanitary living conditions, she said she had moved her dogs and had used lime to disinfect the area where the dogs had been chained. Piche maintained that her dogs were healthy and happy.
The state humane agent then took the stand.
First District Attorney Paul Cavanaugh played a videotape Howlett had made at the time the animals were seized. Watching the tape, Howlett said they had found urine-soaked newspapers in the house.
One of the dogs, she said, had wrapped its chain around a stump and could barely get inside or out. The water in the dogs' dishes was black and full of debris. One doghouse had feces in it and was wet. Another dog had sores on its neck from its collar.
Howlett conceded the dogs were friendly when they were approached.
State veterinarian Dr. Christine Frazier testified that Piche should not have used a horse dewormer on her dogs. She said that size and weight determine the amount of dosage and simply giving each dog one click of the tube did not fit that standard.
Frazier said that lime was a deodorizer and would not disinfect the soil.
During closing arguments, Piche's attorney, Ronald Bourget of Augusta, said it was evident from the tape and Piche's testimony that the dogs had not been mistreated. He said the videotape proved the dogs had "pink, supple, big fat tongues," which did not suggest that the dogs were dehydrated as alleged by the state.
Addressing the deworming issue, Bourget suggested the women were following veterinary instructions.
Judge Romei interrupted Bourget. "You mean because they got bad advice and they followed that bad advice, it should not be construed as depriving the animals of necessary medical attention?" he asked.
Bourget asked that the state return the animals to their owners. "These aren't people who cruelly abandoned or abused their dogs," he said.
Cavanaugh disagreed. He said the videotape was evidence of neglect. He said the dogs were on short chains, there were feces on the ground and in one of the doghouses and there was glass in the dirt. He said although the women were told in February to deworm their dogs, when the dogs were seized in August they were full of worms.
