She Likened Her Dogs to Art, Is Found Guilty of Animal Cruelty

Animal cruelty cases are always dismal. This one out of New Hampshire is also somewhat bizarre. Christina Fay of Wolfeboro was found guilty Tuesday on 10 animal cruelty charges related to the 84 Great Danes that were seized from her mansion in June. WMURreports she ran a kennel called De La Sang Monde Great Danes from her 57-acre property, and housed the dogs that she imported, raised, and sold in her home's basement, first floor, and garages. Per the AP, she compared the animals to an art collection and expressed a desire to be the preeminent collector of European Great Danes in America. Fay had pleaded not guilty to the charges, and Judge Charles Greenhalgh did state in his ruling that Fay did seem devoted to the dogs.

But an April knee injury reduced her mobility, and a staffing shortage contributed to what Greenhalgh says authorities found: conditions that "[constitute] cruelty. Their cages and living areas were covered with an accumulation of feces and urine days or weeks old. The dogs had to walk in and lay down in the waste covering the floor." The scent of ammonia in the home was so pungent that those who entered had to take regular breaks. The Concord Monitor reports a number of the dogs had had giardia, ear infections, and papilloma virus, and that the illnesses had gone untreated and spread. The dogs have been in the care of the Humane Society. Fay will be sentenced within 30 days, and the fate of the dogs will be determined at that time. (In this case of animal cruelty, the odor was bad; what was inside was worse.)

(source Newser).