Top Comments: a local Animal Cruelty edition

A look at two stories of animal cruelty here in the Granite State, after the jump …

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Last year, a case of animal cruelty in north-central New Hampshire made the regional (and even some national) news, due to an atypical abode of a particular puppy mill. Much more recently, a case near where I live is more common, yet has strained community resources. Such goings-on probably take place near your home as well — these are offered as a cautionary tale.

Whereas cat hoarding tends to not be a matter of profit (instead, a rescuer of strays at first, yet with emotional needs that leads to a situation gone awry) puppy mills are often purely profit-driven: breeding purebred dogs in a “factory farm” environment without care for the animals’ welfare to hold-down costs. Yet here are two examples of puppy mills that accurately fit both descriptions.

Last year, in the north-central resort town of Wolfeboro (where Mitt Romney has a home, and former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has spent vacation time), a raid was conducted on an eight-room palatial home. Eighty-four Great Danes were seized from a woman formerly married to a millionaire investment banker.

Unable to conceive, years ago they adopted six children with special needs (exposure to prenatal drugs/alcohol, with two having difficulties today as adults). Following her divorce four years ago, she moved to Auburn, Maine where going through depression led to her beginning to acquire Great Danes (sixteen, at the time). Authorities investigated and while the pets seemed to be well cared-for, they did ask her to improve cleanliness and obtain a kennel license. 

Instead, Christina Fay moved out of Maine to a gated mansion set-apart from other homes — one reason why she escaped detection for two years. The number of Great Danes increased to eighty-four. She did try to improve conditions by hiring a housekeeper— who attempted to clean-up the mess . Ultimately exhausted, though: she took photos and alerted law enforcement and animal rescue.

    A puppy mill-in-a-mansion (note photocopier at left)

Police reported seeing sores on the dogs, lesions and even some who had gone blind. There was little light/ventilation, food and water was scarce … and due to the lack of sanitation, the feces/urine led to extraordinary levels of ammonia.

The mattress-top nearly brown

This case sparked interest in the New Hampshire legislature, with Senate bill 569 passing (and GOP governor Chris Sununu promising support) .. yet it was changed drastically by the lower House (partly due to lobbying by more reputable dog breeders) and failed for this year. Sponsors say they hope to try again next year.

After two trials, Christina Fay was convicted on multiple counts of animal cruelty and forced to surrender all but one of her dogs (which seemed to bother her more than the $2 million in fines assessed). This past July she filed an appeal (still pending). Initially she was ordered to serve ninety days in jail, which was later dropped by a county judge, pending successful completion of a counseling program. Mercifully, all of the adoptable Great Danes (and not all were) have just recently been adopted-out to loving homes.

   Christina Fay w/attorneys

Meanwhile, here in the south-western part of the state: a puppy mill was raided two months ago. Unlike Christina Fay, this was a more commercial project and — also unlike Christina Fay — the breeder did not live in a mansion, far away from his neighbors of fourteen years.

Several Labrador Retrievers were able to get outside the home of John Riggieri … and for those that didn’t, their barking became an issue. A retired university professor named Bill Jack installed a C/C camera, capturing one Yellow Lab raising his leg against his mailbox. As Mr. Jack noted:

“Everything was quiet for a little while, for a few years. Then he got a couple of dogs. And then he got more dogs, and more dogs, and more dogs.”

Mr. Riggieri had declared bankruptcy three times earlier, and so it is widely assumed his puppy mill was purely for profit. Either way, the raid yielded the same finding as in Wolfeboro: waste and urine coating the floors, as well as animals with untreated injuries. Fifty-two Labrador Retrievers were seized, along with … Smittens the Cat — who was not a project manager, having been kept in a separate, third-floor room (as if a normal pet).

Two of the Labs @ Humane Society

As with Christina Fay, John Riggieri also is fighting the charges (unlike some hoarders, who surrender their pets after a raid). And he started a Go-Fund-Me page, in order to hold on to them. His animal cruelty trial begins October 29th.

John Riggieri’s trial starts in late Oct.

The seized pets were transported to the Monadnock Humane Society (where I had a temp job, three years ago). They were swamped for awhile, unable to take in new pets as they ran out of space to house these fifty-two Labs. Just recently, they were finally able to place the last of the forty-two suitable dogs in foster care (another ten deemed not ready to be homed, due to medical/behavioral issues). The Society’s executive director said Labs are naturally friendly, easing the strain.

Because the case has yet to go to trial: the Humane Society is limited in what it can do. As evidence, they cannot leave the state, and only routine veterinary care may be given (without a prosecutor’s approval). Plus, if Riggieri is acquitted at trial: he can request all of his dogs back, so it took awhile to find foster homes, knowing they may have to be surrendered. If he is convicted, the judge may well order the final surrender of the dogs, making them adoptable to the foster families.

One cool customer is Smittens the Cat, says the Society’s executive director:

For about two months, she stuck to a cat bed on a particular desk, (Kathy) Collinsworth said. “Now she’s wandering around, and she’s moved in, and she’s been sleeping in a chair at my office.”

Smittens the Cat: + 52 Labs

Let’s close with this old, apropos song title from the New Orleans clarinetist George Lewis ….. part of the reason why John Riggieri was brought down (and yet apparently was not the case for Christina Fay).

x xYouTube Video

Now, on to Top Comments:

From thurayya :

In today’s Morning Open Thread hosted by exlrrp — contributor River Rover often writes comments that no-one else could. Here's another of 'em - this one's about … Marcus Aurelius.

And from Ed Tracey, your faithful correspondent this evening ........

In the diary by First Amendment about the financial hardships Heidi Cruz (a managing director at Goldman Sachs) says she and her husband Ted are going through ….. pioneer111 suggests a TV commercial for Beto O’Rourke’s campaign. 

TOP PHOTOS October 17th, 2018 Next - enjoy jotter's wonderful *PictureQuilt™* below. Just click on the picture and it will magically take you to the comment that features that photo. (NOTE: Any missing images in the Quilt were removed because (a) they were from an unapproved source that somehow snuck through in the comments, or (b) it was an image from the DailyKos Image Library which didn't have permissions set to allow others to use it.)

And lastly: yesterday's Top Mojo - mega-mojo to the intrepid mik ...... who rescued this feature from oblivion:

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