Three dogs severely neglected
Lunenburg, MA (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Dec 6, 2006
County: Worcester
Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 3 files available
Alleged:
» Jennifer Cormier
» Linda McMasters
Case Updates: 5 update(s) available
Police officers seized three dogs from a Clearing Street home on Dec 6 after allegedly finding them malnourished, Officer Bob DiConza said.
"One of them looked like a skeleton with fur," DiConza said.
DiConza said police are considering filing charges against the dogs' owners, who live at 18 Clearing St, but he would not release the owners' names immediately.
DiConza said he and another officer went to the house after "receiving information of abused dogs tied up outside."
DiConza arrived at the house to find two yellow Labradors on a leash in the house's yard, and a third mixed-breed dog in the basement.
Police took the dogs to the Fallon Animal Clinic in Lunenburg.
DiConza said all three dogs appeared malnourished, but a veterinary report will not be available until later today.
A man who answered the phone at the clinic Wednesday redirected questions about the dogs to the police.
Police have notified the town's animal control officer, as well as the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, DiConza said.
A MSPCA official will examine the dogs today, DiConza said.
Two women at the home Wednesday confirmed they owned the dogs, but declined to give their names.
One of the women said a police officer told them the dogs have some type of disease.
"My dogs are 12-years-old, and I just thought they were getting old," said one of the women, who said she owns the two Labradors.
She said all three dogs eat a large amount of food every day.
"We thought it was just their age," she said.
The woman also said she has not worked in two years, and did not think she had enough money to take the dog to a veterinarian.
"I can't afford a vet right now. I didn't know you could get billed for a vet later," she said.
"It's nothing we did on purpose," the woman said of the dogs' conditions.
Neighbors either said they did not notice the dogs or they declined to comment.
Case UpdatesThe two Lunenburg women who police allege starved and mistreated their three dogs pleaded not guilty in Fitchburg District Court on March 15.
District Court Judge Andrew Mandell released the women on personal recognizance with no objection from prosecutors.
Police seized a 15-year-old mixed-breed dog and two yellow Labradors -- one of which weighed only 33 pounds -- from the two women, Linda McMasters, 54, and Jennifer Cormier, 30, on Dec. 7.
A healthy Labrador weighs about 75 pounds.
The dogs suffered from an easily treated intestinal parasite called whip worm, had bloody diarrhea and lived in dirty, feces-filled cages outdoors, according to a police report by Sgt. Peter Oberton with the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals released Thursday.
Lunenburg Police Officer Stanley Barney wrote in his police report that one of the Labradors looked "like a skeleton with fur" when he first found it at McMasters and Cormier's 18 Crossing St. home.
"Cormier stated that the dogs are not abused, the dogs are old and that's what they're supposed to look like, just like people when they get old," Barney wrote in his report, released Thursday. "I told her I'm not a vet, but I have two dogs and I know what dogs are supposed to look like, and they shouldn't look like that."
The women allegedly told officers that they were feeding the dogs 100 pounds of food a week, but had not visited a veterinarian in several years.
McMasters and Cormier declined to comment at the courthouse Thursday.
They appeared briefly in court for arraignment, with McMasters holding her jacket over her head to hide her face from a photographer.
Cormier and McMasters both received court-appointed attorneys, as Cormier is on public assistance and McMasters recently declared bankruptcy, the court heard.
McMasters is charged with one count of cruelty to animals by a custodian and Cormier faces two counts.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and a $2,500 fine.
The case attracted the attention of animal-rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, who demanded Cormier and McMasters receive the maximum punishment.
One of the Labradors, Bullet, now lives in Stow after being adopted by an on-call firefighter there.
The other two dogs are still being cared for by the MSPCA and are available for adoption, said MSPCA spokesman Brian Adams.
The second Labrador, Tiny, has some aggression issues and may needed to be taken in by a Labrador rescue, Adams said. | Source: Sentinel & Enterprise - March 16, 2007
Update posted on Mar 17, 2007 - 3:12AM |
Stow resident Bruce Usinowicz said the 33-pound Labrador that police seized from a Lunenburg home earlier this month is doing very well in his new home.
"He now has a nice warm home, soft bed, good food and lots of love and affection," said Usinowicz, a Stow resident. "We enjoy walks, and sleeping on the couch or in front of the fireplace."
The 11-year-old named Bullet, who Usinowicz adopted last week, is now up to 43 pounds, still more than 30 pounds below what a healthy yellow Labrador should weigh.
Usinowicz said he adopted Bullet, who he calls a "gentle soul," after seeing a news story about the dog's condition.
Usinowicz, an on-call firefighter in Stow, said the Labrador still gets nervous when left alone, and has little interest in playing.
"He doesn't know what to do with toys yet," Usinowicz said, which he added is very "unusual" for a Labrador.
But Usinowicz said Bullet now sits for treats and is quickly getting used to his new surroundings.
Police seized Bullet and a second 11-year-old Labrador named Tiny, as well as a 15-year-old mixed-breed dog named Candy, from a Crossing Street home on Dec. 6.
Police said the dogs were severely undernourished. A healthy Labrador should weigh about 75 pounds.
All three dogs also had whipworm, an intestinal parasite that police said is easily treatable.
Lunenburg police filed animal cruelty charges against Lunenburg residents Linda McMasters and Jennifer Cormier in connection with the dogs' conditions. They have not yet been arraigned in Fitchburg District Court.
The two women have previously said that they did not have enough money to take the dogs to the veterinarian, and they had thought the dogs had just been getting old.
Meagan Rock, a manager with the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' adoption center in Boston, said the two remaining dogs are ready for adoption.
Both dogs are improving quickly, although the second Labrador, Tiny, is having some behavioral difficulties, she said.
"Tiny has actually been a little bit of a troublemaker at the shelter, getting in fights with the other dogs," Rock said.
Rock said whoever adopts Tiny would have to be willing to "help with that."
The shelter has fielded many calls about the two remaining dogs, she added, but no one has expressed any serious interest in adopting them.
"There's certainly been a lot of people checking in on them," Rock said.
Animal cruelty charges carry a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment.
Anyone interested in adopting the two remaining dogs can call the MSPCA at (617) 522-5055. | Source: Sentinel & Enterprise - Dec 27, 2006
Update posted on Dec 28, 2006 - 3:54PM |
The three dogs that were surrendered to the MSPCA Animal Care and Adoption Center (ACAC) on December 8, as the Lunenburg Police Department prepared to file animal cruelty charges against the canines' owners, are now available for adoption.
Tiny and Bullet, two 11 year-old yellow Labradors, and Candy, a 15 year-old mixed-breed dog, arrived at the MSPCA-Angell and the ACAC staff promptly began physical evaluations and treatment. All three dogs were recognizably underweight and quickly ate the food that was given to them.
Assisted by the MSPCA Law Enforcement Department, the Lunenburg Police Department continues its investigation into the extent of alleged cruelty that these dogs suffered. Meanwhile, the MSPCA ACAC has been treating and caring for all three canines.
The MSPCA is asking all interested adopters to visit the Boston Animal Care and Adoption Center or call 1-(617)-522-5055 if they are interested in adopting Tiny, Bullet or Candy. | Source: MSPCA
Update posted on Dec 20, 2006 - 10:25AM |
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an animal-rights advocacy group, is calling for two Lunenburg residents to serve the maximum penalty of five years in state prison for allegedly mistreating their three dogs.
"I think five years is a bargain for leaving one or two of your elderly dogs to languish alone in a backyard or in a dark basement," said PETA spokesman Dan Paden, who sent a letter to District Attorney John Conte Wednesday calling for harsh punishments against the owners.
"When the state legislature enacted the law setting that maximum sentence, they felt that it was fair and reflected Massachusetts residents' view of the severity of the cruelty of animals," he said.
Officer Bob DiConza said he filed animal cruelty charges against the dogs' owners, Linda McMasters and Jennifer Cormier, in Fitchburg District Court Tuesday.
Police seized the two 11-year-old yellow Labradors and a third 15-year-old mixed-breed dog from 18 Crossing St. last week.
One of the yellow Labradors weighed only 33 pounds, about half its normal weight, and all three dogs had an intestinal parasite called whipworm, police said.
McMasters said in previous interviews that they fed their dogs every day, and that they had thought the dogs were just old.
Paden requested Conte to consider that "it is the severity of the behavior -- not the species of the victim -- that matters."
"We respectfully ask that, if convicted and in addition to serving a period of incarceration, McMasters and Cormier be required to undergo thorough psychological evaluations followed by mandatory counseling at their own expense," Paden wrote in his letter to Conte.
Paden also asked for any plea deal to include restrictions on the two women ever owning animals in the future.
"We implore your office to take every measure necessary to ensure that the convicted are barred from all future contact with animals and to immediately seize any animals who remain in their charge," Paden wrote.
Paden said Wednesday he has not yet heard back from anyone in Conte's office.
Conte spokeswoman Elizabeth Stammo did not return a message from the Sentinel & Enterprise requesting comment Wednesday.
Sgt. Peter Oberton with the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said Wednesday that the two 11-year-old Labradors' outdoor cages were filled with "wall-to-wall feces."
Oberton said the whipworm would have caused some of the dogs' emaciation, but not all of it.
If the owners had fed the dogs a normal about of food, their health conditions "shouldn't have been that drastic," Oberton said.
The three dogs are currently being cared for by the MSPCA and are expected to be ready for adoption in a week.
"They've probably gained a few pounds, and they look better, as far as being more alert," said Meagan Rock, a manager at the MSPCA's animal adoption center in Boston.
Rock said the dogs are cured of their whipworm, and are now able to hold their food down.
Rock said people can find out information on the dogs by visiting www.mspca.org/tiny or calling (617) 522-5025. | Source: Sentinel & Enterprise - Dec 14, 2006
Update posted on Dec 14, 2006 - 1:52PM |
The two Labradors belonged to Jennifer Cormier. Her mother, Linda McMasters, owned the mixed-breed dog.
Cormier will face two counts of animal cruelty and McMasters will face one count, DiConza said.
The charge carries up to five years imprisonment and a fine of up to $2,500.
The owners said Wednesday that they did not have enough money to take the animals to a veterinarian, and they thought the dogs were just getting old.
But DiConza said any dog owner should notice the serious diarrhea, weight loss and hair loss cause by the whipworm parasite.
"If you have no money to take care of the animals, you should give them away," DiConza said.
DiConza said the two Labradors stayed mostly outside, and the mixed-breed dog stayed in the basement.
Sgt. Peter Oberton with the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals inspected the dogs and interviewed Cormier and McMasters earlier Thursday, DiConza said.
Cormier and McMasters voluntarily gave up ownership of the dogs Thursday, DiConza said.
The dogs will be given to the MSPCA today and will receive treatment at the Angell Memorial Animal Hospital in Boston.
DiConza said the three dogs will eventually be put up for adoption, and said he is "hopeful" they will fully recover. | Source: Sentinel & Enterprise - Dec 8, 2006
Update posted on Dec 8, 2006 - 6:28PM |
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