Attorneys/Judges
| Prosecutor(s): | Andrew Wright, Geoff Rushlau | | Defense(s): | Andrews Campbell | | Judge(s): | Andrew Horton |
Puppy mill - 66 dogs, 4 cats
Somerville, ME (US)Incident Date: Friday, Jan 18, 2008
County: Lincoln
Charges: Misdemeanor, Felony CTA
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Fern Clark
Case Updates: 12 update(s) available
Authorities with the state Animal Welfare Program removed 66 dogs, four cats and a Cockatiel from a Somerville home on Friday. The animals, owned by Fern Clark, lived largely inside her home on Hewett Road.
It was "horrific" said Norma Worley, Director of the state's Animal Welfare Program operating under the Department of Agriculture. The dogs were small dogs, Chihuahuas, shih tzus and terriers. Two of the dogs were found dead in a food freezer, said Worley. Nine of the dogs were in critical condition and were rushed to emergency pet clinics in Portland and Lewiston.
The seizure comes in the wake of an arrest in Salem, N.H. of a 32-year-old Dracut, Mass., woman who had 22 dogs in her car, 12 of which she said came from a "puppy mill" in Somerville.
A one time licensed breeder, Clark had not renewed her license in recent years. No puppies were found at the kennel.
Clark had a town issued kennel license which expired on Dec. 31 2007 reported Somerville Town Clerk Ernestine Peaslee. The license was set to expire unless renewed by Jan. 31, 2008.
In April 1994, Clark, then 64-years-old, was arrested and transported to jail in Wiscasset after officials seized 61 dogs and puppies and 20 cats and kittens at her home. She was charged with cruelty to animals but cleared of the charge in November. She was, however, convicted of assault charges for throwing a cordless phone at state Humane Agent Loraine Nickerson.
In November of 1994, the state, minding Clark's animals, returned 90 dogs and 20 cats to her.
Twenty-four of the dogs taken in last week's seizure were taken to the Lincoln County Animal Shelter in Edgecomb. On Tuesday, state veterinarian Chris Fraser and private practice veterinarian Monique Kramer cleaned ears, trimmed fur, cut nails, listened for heart murmurs and ordered tests as they examined the 24 dogs being held at the Lincoln County Animal Shelter. The remaining 42 dogs are being held at an animal shelter in Portland.
In connection to the charges, Worley expects to submit paperwork to the Lincoln County District Attorney's Office sometime next week.
Case UpdatesAn 80-year-old Maine woman has been convicted of assaulting a sheriff's deputy who was checking to make sure she was abiding by her bail conditions on animal cruelty charges.
A Lincoln County jury on Friday found Fern Clark of Somerville guilty on one count of assault and two counts of violating conditions of release.
According to the Kennebec Journal, Clark was free on bail on multiple animal cruelty charges in 2008 when was charged with striking a Lincoln County deputy who had come to her home and found her to be in possession of two kittens in violation of her conditions of release.
Clark was convicted of animal cruelty charges last year. Her sentence was suspended, but she was banned from keeping any animals for 10 years. | Source: WGME - May 16, 2010
Update posted on May 16, 2010 - 12:27PM |
A Lincoln County judge is poised to acquit a 79-year-old kennel owner from Somerville of five felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty.
But Superior Court Justice Andrew Horton said Friday the prosecution presented sufficient evidence to convict Fern Clark of 16 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty.
The Kennebec Journal of Augusta said the judge is reserving his ruling on all charges until after the defense completes its case.
Animal welfare agents seized 66 dogs, four cats and a bird from Clark's home on Jan. 19, 2008, citing "horrific" conditions and serious health problems.
Clark's lawyer moved for an acquittal on all charges after the state presented its evidence. | Source: Foster's Daily Herald - May 1, 2009
Update posted on May 1, 2009 - 5:56PM |
A 79-year-old Somerville woman is scheduled to go on trial Monday on charges she mistreated and neglected more than 70 animals, which state officials seized from her home on Jan. 18, 2008.
Fern Clark, who held a municipal license to operate a dog kennel, has pleaded not guilty to five counts of aggravated animal cruelty and 16 counts of criminal cruelty to animals.
The nonjury trial is expected to begin at 8:30 a.m. in Lincoln County Superior Court in Wiscasset before Justice Andrew Horton. It will continue on Tuesday and then is scheduled to pick up again on Friday.
Clark fought the state's seizure of 66 dogs, four cats and one bird but lost at the superior court level. That decision was upheld in December 2008 by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
Clark maintains she loved and cared for her animals.
"The defendant's property most precious to her has been seized," her attorney Andrews Campbell, wrote in a court document.
Clark said she was away from her Hewett Road home when animal welfare agents seized the animals. She said she kept her animals clean and fed. Her initial state license application said she kept Chihuahuas, Shih Tzus and Cairn terriers.
Assistant District Attorney Andrew Wright argued that state animal welfare authorities acted properly.
In the May 2008 indictment, the five aggravated animal cruelty charges say Clark "in a manner manifesting a depraved indifference to animal life or suffering, (and) did intentionally, knowingly or recklessly cause extreme physical pain to kill or physically torture an animal."
The charges are based on findings by Dr. Christine Fraser, a veterinarian for the Animal Welfare Program. Fraser filed an affidavit with the court saying two dead dogs found in Clark's freezer had suffered extreme pain from a lack of medical or veterinary attention. Two other dogs had severe dental infections, and a cat was found to be suffering from severe malnutrition. Fraser said all needed medical attention.
The misdemeanor animal cruelty charges say Clark, "being the owner or possessor of an animal, did intentionally, knowingly or recklessly deprive that animal of necessary sustenance, necessary medical attention, proper shelter, protection from the weather or humanely clean conditions."
Animal welfare officials obtained a warrant to search Clark's home after a Massachusetts woman who said she took animals from Clark's home was questioned in New Hampshire.
Amy Moolic, of Dracut, Mass., was found to have 22 dogs in her car. Two were dead. She told police she "saved" 10 dogs from Clark's home.
Clark said Moolic took nine dogs and was supposed to place them in good homes. The dogs that were found dead did not come from her kennel, Clark said.
Clark was acquitted in 1994 of similar animal-cruelty charges but convicted of assaulting a state animal welfare agent who was in the process of investigating complaints against her. The assault charge was a misdemeanor.
In an interview last summer, Clark said she had kept dogs for 35 years.
Bail conditions ban her from having animals. | Source: Morning Sentinel - April 25, 2009
Update posted on Apr 27, 2009 - 1:12AM |
A judge has ruled that a search warrant in connection with a raid on a Somerville dog breeder's home was valid.
Justice Andrew Horton said in a Sept. 12 ruling that officials from the Animal Welfare Program and Lincoln County law enforcement "acted in good faith" and believed they were doing the right thing when they obtained a search warrant to enter the home of Fern Clark, 78, in January.
Officials seized 66 of Clark's animals in the raid -- 61 dogs, four cats and a bird. Two of the dogs were deceased and found in a freezer, according to court documents.
Clark was charged with five felony counts of animal cruelty in January, days after state agents seized the animals. She now will stand trial on those charges.
At an Aug. 26 hearing, Horton listened to testimony from state veterinarian Christine Fraser and Lincoln County Sheriff Lt. Rand Maker, who executed the warrant. He also listened to testimony from Matthew Clark, Fern Clark's son.
At the hearing, Fern Clark's attorney, Andrews Campbell, said the affidavit and search warrant did not provide enough evidence or a probable cause for entering her home Jan. 18.
Some of the complaints the Animal Welfare Program received regarding Clark's kennels were based on reports from people who had not been allowed to see where the dogs were actually kept, Campbell argued, adding there was no proof in those reports that Clark had done anything wrong.
In his ruling, Horton disagreed with the defense, saying Fraser and Maker "subjectively believed" they did the right thing seeking the warrant, which was reviewed by Maker and former Lincoln County Assistant District Attorney Lisa Bogue before being approved by Justice Jonathan Hall.
Moreover, Horton said, Fraser's affidavit provided "some linkage" between some of Clark's kennel dogs to a Dracut, Mass., woman, Amy Moolic, who was arrested in New Hampshire after claiming 10 of 22 canines found in her car were "rescued" from the Clark house.
Though the affidavit does not prove which of Moolic's dogs came from Clark's kennel, Horton believed the link between Clark and Moolic was strong enough to support the state's decision to seek the search warrant.
Campbell said Monday, after examining the ruling, the issue at hand ought be whether or not his client intentionally harmed the animals.
"There's no question she had too many animals, but she loved all of them," Campbell said of Clark.
"It's very hard when you have that many animals to know which ones have internal problems."
Lincoln County Assistant District Attorney Andrew Wright expressed praise for Horton's ruling to uphold the search warrant. "We obviously agree with the judge's decision and stand by it," Wright said.
Norma Worley, director of the state's Animal Welfare Program, said state officials are "pleased" with Horton's ruling.
"We certainly appreciate the judge's ruling," Worley said Monday.
"We're very pleased the (assistant district attorney) worked hard on this case and we're planning on moving forward with criminal proceedings."
Clark's trial is scheduled to begin in December, though a date has yet to be set, Wright said. If convicted, she faces up to 25 years in prison and/or a $25,000 fine. Clark was acquitted animal cruelty charges in 1994. The animals in that case were returned to her, state records show. | Source: Kennebec Journal - Sept 16, 2008
Update posted on Nov 2, 2008 - 3:30PM |
The case against Fern Clark of Somerville for alleged animal abuse has been put on hold, a docket from the Maine State Superior Court dated July 28 states. Her lawyer argued that the search warrant officers used in their investigation lacked necessary probable cause.
Fern Clark, 78, was charged with aggravated animal cruelty on Jan. 30 after the search of her home resulted in the seizing of 71 animals, mostly dogs (as reported in The Lincoln County News story titled, "Defense Questions probable cause in animal seizure case" dated Mar. 12).
The search warrant in question was issued after New Hampshire police arrested a driver who had 22 dogs in her car, three of which were dead and others with fleas and matted feces. The driver told police she got the dogs from Clark.
According to the docket sent from the Office of the District Attorney, the affidavit of state veterinarian Dr. Christine Fraser of the Maine Dept. of Agriculture's Animal Welfare Program does not indicate when the driver got the dogs from Clark.
The connection between the conditions of the dogs found in the car and conditions of the animals at Clark's kennel has come under scrutiny and the affidavit, Clark's lawyer argues, is open to speculation.
"There is nothing in the latest episodes of that history (of inspections at Clark's kennel) that describes dogs in the kennel being in a condition similar to the dogs observed in the Moolic (driver's) vehicle," court documents state.
The State contends that even if the warrant was lacking in probable cause, the evidence gathered as a result should not be left out of the case.
According to the Law Court mentioned in the findings, "The Supreme Court has held that evidence obtained pursuant to a defective search warrant will not be suppressed if the officer's reliance on the magistrate's determination as to the existence of probable cause was 'objectively reasonable'."
The Court states that the given information doesn't establish which officers relied on the determination of probable cause to execute the warrant.
"He's giving the State the opportunity to show that even if the warrant is deficient, it was obtained in good faith," said District Attorney Geoff Rushlau of Superior Court Justice A.M. Horton's findings.
Maine Supreme Court Justice Horton mentions an evidentiary hearing, where Clark and her lawyer can further explore the evidence offered by Fraser. The Judge continued that a motion hearing is to be completed at a later date, Rushlau said. | Source: Lincoln County News - Aug 13, 2008
Update posted on Aug 13, 2008 - 11:56PM |
A judge in Wiscasset has ordered another hearing on a defense motion to suppress evidence against a 78-year-old Somerville woman who pleaded not guilty to five felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and 16 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty.
Authorities searched the home of Fern Clark on Jan. 19 and seized 66 dogs, four cats and a bird. Her lawyer has argued that the search warrant was granted without probable cause.
Superior Court Justice Andrew Horton found fault with an affidavit that served as the basis for the warrant, concluding that it contained "some significant gaps that cannot be filled in except by speculation."
Police and state animal welfare officials who raided Clark's home said many of the dogs had serious health problems linked to neglect and malnutrition. | Source: WMTW - Aug 1, 2008
Update posted on Aug 1, 2008 - 7:15PM |
A judge will decide the validity of a search warrant affidavit used to raid a Somerville dog breeder's home. Authorities who searched the home of Fern Clark, 78, on Jan. 19, seized 66 dogs, four cats and a bird, and charged her with five felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and 16 misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals.
Clark has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
On Thursday, she sat next to her attorney, Andrews Campbell, as he argued the affidavit filed by Animal Welfare Program state veterinarian Chris Fraser was insufficient to obtain a search warrant.
The affidavit was filed after Amy Moolic of Dracut, Mass., was arrested Jan. 16 in Salem, N.H., after police found 22 dogs -- at least two of them dead and the remainder filthy -- inside her vehicle.
Moolic told authorities she was rescuing the animals from a puppy mill in Somerville, and Assistant District Attorney Andrew Wright said Clark's name was found on paperwork in Moolic's vehicle.
But the judge questioned links between Clark and the dogs found with Moolic.
"There doesn't seem to be a lot of corroborating information about Ms. Moolic's information," Justice Andrew Horton said Thursday. "She pointed to a puppy mill in Somerville. She doesn't specifically identify Ms. Clark."
Campbell said Moolic visited other kennels in Maine besides Clark's.
"I say it's invalid and everything flowing from it," Campbell told the judge.
Campbell also said the affidavit was not notarized, and the judge noted the affidavit fails to say when Moolic obtained the dogs.
"That leaves open the question -- if they were in filthy condition, as stated in the affidavit, we don't know how long Ms. Moolic had them," Horton said.
Wright said the affidavit should be looked at in its entirety, taking in the information from out-of-state authorities and Clark's previous encounters with Maine animal welfare agents.
Clark was acquitted in 1994 of animal cruelty charges but convicted of a misdemeanor charge of assaulting an animal welfare agent who was investigating complaints against her.
She addressed the judge directly at the closing of Thursday's hour-long hearing, objecting to the way the search warrant was carried out.
"They went in my house and they stole my personal phone book and my town license," she said. "I haven't had a chance to speak for myself. They all lied."
Campbell said Clark was licensed, had complied with all state requirements and had her animals looked at by a veterinarian.
"Nothing alleged presents a lack of subsistence or medical care," Campbell told Horton.
If he rules the affidavit faulty, Horton said he could order another hearing to obtain testimony from witnesses.
Horton denied Campbell's motion to have the state turn over items seized in a second search at Fern Clark's home, specifically items taken from her son's room. | Source: Kennebec Journal -July 18, 2008
Update posted on Jul 21, 2008 - 4:33PM |
The woman charged with five felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty said Wednesday she kept her dogs in clean cages and the warrant used to seize her animals was not properly served. Fern Clark, 78, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, will be in Superior Court in Bath today for a hearing on motions related to her case.
She said state officials did not give her notice that they were going to enter her Hewitt Road home when they conducted a raid in January and seized 66 dogs, four cats and a bird.
"I did not receive the warrant in my hands when they come to take my dogs," she said, as she sat Wednesday at her kitchen table. "I was not at home. I had cleaned all the dogs, gave them food and water."
Clark, who declined previous interview requests, said those who conducted the raid also took personal items from her home.
"They went into my room, stole my digital camera, took all the phone books and weekly planners, and left it a mess," she said.
Animal-welfare officials got a warrant to search the home after a Massachusetts woman who said she took animals from Clark's home was pulled over in New Hampshire.
The woman was found to have 22 dogs in her car. Two were dead. She told police she "saved" 10 dogs from Clark's home.
Clark said Amy Moolic of Dracut, Mass., took nine dogs and was supposed to place them in good homes. The dogs that were found dead did not come from her kennel, she said.
She said she wants to get her animals back after the court proceedings are concluded.
"I got dogs I love very much and I hope they don't hurt any one of them," she said.
Lincoln County Assistant District Attorney Andrew Wright, who is handling the case, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. District Attorney Geoffrey Rushlau said many of the issues raised by Clark will be decided by a judge.
"The judge is going to be asked whether there was legal basis to take the animals into custody," he said.
Whether a person must be physically present for authorities to conduct a search depends on the circumstance, he said.
Clark, who said she's had dogs for 35 years, also disputes accounts provided by two women who say they entered her home in February 2005 and found an "eye-watering" odor in the home and a floor "slick with feces and urine."
Clark said she never allowed the two women in the upstairs of her home where the animals are housed.
Further, she said any odor in the home can be attributed to flea spray, bleach and "odor ban" that's used to control smells. She said well-worn spots on her linoleum floor could be mistaken for feces.
On Tuesday, Clark showed the cages where some of the dogs were kept.
In one room, Clark housed 19 dogs in cages stacked along the walls. She said the cages -- which she described as 2 feet by 4 feet, 2 feet by 3 feet and 2 feet by 2 feet -- were more than adequate for the small dogs she kept in her home. She said most of the dogs were Chihuahuas and Shih Tzus.
"I'm going to fight them every step of the way, even if I have to take it to federal court and the Supreme Court in Washington D.C.," she said. | Source: Kennebec Journal - July 17, 2008
Update posted on Jul 17, 2008 - 12:09PM |
A Somerville dog breeder recently accused of aggravated animal cruelty had her home raided, animals seized and faced similar criminal charges 14 years ago, at a time when she was not licensed to breed or kennel animals, state records show.
Fern Clark was acquitted in 1994 of animal-cruelty charges but she was convicted of assaulting a state animal-welfare agent who was in the process of investigating complaints against her. The assault charge was a misdemeanor.
Clark, 78, last month pleaded not guilty to five felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty, charges that stem from a raid on her home Jan. 19. Seventy-one animals -- 66 dogs, four cats and a cockatiel -- were removed. Among the animals removed were two dead canines found in a freezer, state officials say. An additional sixteen misdemeanor counts related to animal cruelty have been filed, court records reveal.
The case has raised the ire of animal lovers across the region, particularly from two women who, at one point, were would-be customers of Clark's Star Fire Star animal-breeding facility: Linda Moody-Terrell of Farmingdale, and Jessica Andrews of Boston. In separate interviews, both women said they left Clark's home empty-handed -- and disgusted -- after visiting the kennel.
Moody-Terrell and Andrews said they complained to the state's Animal Welfare Program, which is part of the Agriculture Department, long before January of this year.
But state officials said they didn't have the evidence they needed to raid the home until a Massachusetts woman was stopped by police in New Hampshire in January. Amy Moolic, of Dracut, Mass., was arrested Jan. 16 in Salem, N.H. after she was found to have 22 dogs -- two dead -- inside her vehicle. Moolic told police she "saved" 10 of the animals from a puppy mill in Somerville owned by Clark.
Since January, the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel have been investigating Clark, her Somerville operation and how much the state knew about the dog breeder prior to the January raid. The newspapers used Maine's Freedom of Access law to seek public documents about Clark and Star Fire Star. After twice declining to release the records, the state did so last spring.
Those documents from the Animal Welfare Program, which tracks breeder and kennel licenses and investigates cases of animal neglect and abuse, show that the department knew of Clark's previous encounter with state animal-welfare agents and her former arrest.
The documents show 14 reported complaints were filed about Clark's business from 1997 to 2007.
And, the records show that the kennel licenses Clark needed to keep animals on her property were given to her by the town of Somerville from at least 2004 to 2006 without a mandatory inspection by the town's animal-control officer.
Animal Welfare Program Director Norma Worley acknowledged that some people have been critical of how her office has handled Clark's operation. Worley said the office moved carefully with the Clark case and, as a result, Clark faces five felony charges related to animal cruelty. If convicted, she could face up to 25 years in prison and/or up to $25,000 in fines.
"This is a felony case, and that is one of the reason we didn't want to rush judgment on (the situation)," Worley said. "I am confident in our case."
ANIMALS SEIZED...AND RETURNED
On April 1, 1994, two deputies from the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office were asked to assist three state animal-welfare agents who were executing a search warrant on Clark's property.
In a narrative police report, Lt. William Lewis from the sheriff's office said the state had become aware that Clark was allegedly keeping animals without a license to do so. A warrant was obtained for further investigation.
They were not well-received by Clark, both Lewis and Sgt. Clayton Jordan said in separate police reports in 1994. The Somerville woman "made several attempts to place herself in the way of the humane agents" and aggressively tried to stop law-enforcement officials from seizing the animals, Lewis said in his police report.
While agents were investigating the home, Clark "suddenly jumped from her chair with a cordless phone in her hand and struck Agent Lorraine Nickerson several times in the head and shoulder area," Lewis wrote in the police report.
Months later, in November of that year, Clark was convicted of assaulting Nickerson -- but she was acquitted of animal cruelty. The animals were returned to her custody, records from the Animal Welfare Program say.
What remains unclear, however, is exactly what happened in the case itself.
Court records of the animal-cruelty charges were destroyed several years ago because, according to Lincoln County Assistant District Attorney Andrew Wright, animal cruelty was not considered a felony 14 years ago. The Lincoln County Court system disposes of misdemeanor records a decade after they are filed, Wright said.
Augusta-based attorney David Lipman confirmed he represented Clark in the 1994 case but declined to discuss the case further, saying it was "the client's matter." Clark's son, Matthew Clark, has declined comment on his mother's behalf multiple times.
Andrews Campbell, who represents Clark concerning the new animal-cruelty charges, said past charges are irrelevant.
"Anyone can charge anyone with anything," Campbell said. "And she was acquitted."
Worley, who was an animal-cruelty investigator in California in 1994, said she was aware of the past allegations made against Clark but knew too little about the 1994 case to comment.
In the weeks following Clark's 1994 animal-cruelty acquittal and assault conviction, records show she applied for a breeding kennel license -- allowing her to legally breed and sell animals -- and started doing business as Star Fire Star.
MORE COMPLAINTS
Since Star Fire Star's inception, the Animal Welfare Program has placed 14 complaints about the facility on file, twice as many as state officials said they had on file after Clark's January 2008 arrest.
The complaints, which start in 1997, range from Clark allegedly passing off pups as pure bred when they were not, to "filthy conditions," to accusations the Somerville woman was selling animals with upper respiratory diseases, worms and fleas.
In a January interview, Worley said seven complaints from 2002 were on file against Clark. An additional seven, from 1997 to 2001, were found in state records obtained through the newspapers' Freedom of Access requests.
A now-retired animal-welfare agent named Thomas Eddy investigated all but three of the 14 reported complaints. The two most recent reported complaints were investigated by Chris Fraser, a state veterinarian; the other was handled by agent Sue Metzger, who passed the case on to another employee after Clark refused Metzger entry.
In addition to investigating most of the complaints filed against Clark, Eddy also conducted all state inspections of the home until his 2005 retirement, records show. The inspection records indicated Clark's home met conditions for operating a breeding kennel where animals could be sold.
However, it would be the responsibility of the town of Somerville to conduct its own inspections to issue kennel licenses so Clark could legally keep the dozens of animals on her property.
During a recent interview, Worley maintained her office had done all it legally could to stop Clark -- until it was able to secure a search warrant to seize animals from the Somerville home in January of this year, following the incident in New Hampshire.
"I know we were criticized, and unfairly I feel, for moving too slowly. But by taking our time, we did it right," Worley said. "We now have five felony charges and 16 criminal charges."
The number of complaints was not what animal-welfare agents needed to act, Worley said. Rather, the state needed a documented account from someone who had been in the upstairs of the Clark house, where the animals were kept.
That account came from Linda Moody-Terrell, the Farmingdale woman who visited Clark's home in February of 2005 to purchase a Chihuahua.
Moody-Terrell said she, her brother, Richard Moody, and her adult son, Aaron Hall, went to the upper level of the house to see all the animals. In often-graphic writing to the Animal Welfare Program, the three people described dogs kept in rabbit hutches, an odor that was "eye-watering" and a floor "slick with feces and urine."
In an interview last spring, Moody-Terrell expressed frustration that authorities had not shut down the facility.
Worley acknowledged Moody-Terrell's frustration and the letter.
"I am not questioning what they wrote, in fact, we sent a humane agent to investigate, " Worley said. "But the problem is, the agent found the house was clean and the dogs specifically complained about were under the care of a vet, and we have those records."
Without a corroborating report from the investigating agent, Worley said, "no district attorney's office in this state would ever touch it at that point."
NO INSPECTIONS
Under Maine state law, breeders must have a breeding license from the Animal Welfare Program if they sell more than 16 puppies in a 12-month time frame. Kennel owners need municipality-issued licenses to keep the animals on their property.
Kennel owners -- those who do not necessarily breed animals, but keep more than five with the purpose of showing them at exhibitions, using them as hunting dogs or training the animals professionally -- must only have a municipal license. A municipal license can only be issued after the town's animal-control officer inspects the premises and approves the facility.
State animal-welfare agents conduct inspections for breeding licenses, according to state law, but local animal control officers must conduct a separate inspection in order to issue kennel licenses, according to Worley.
State and town records indicate Somerville town officials allowed Clark to renew her kennel licenses despite not having her home and property inspected by the animal-control officer.
A November 2006 letter from Chris Fraser, the state veterinarian, to the Animal Welfare Program, detailed a complaint that Fraser had investigated against Star Fire Star. Fraser stated the town's animal-control officer, Jesse Turner, had not been allowed into the Clark house to conduct a mandated inspection for a kennel license.
"I asked if the town clerk just issued the kennel licenses, then, without a municipal inspection, and (Jesse Turner) said that was right," Fraser's letter said.
When Turner was finally allowed on to Clark's property in May 2007, he said "everything was met at the time."
"(Fern Clark) told me the animals were her pets only," Turner said, a month after the January raid. "She wasn't using them for breeding."
Kennel licenses for the over 50 animals were approved.
CLARK TO GO ON TRIAL
Campbell, Clark's attorney for the 2008 animal-cruelty charges, says state officials are trying to make the January raid "look worse than it is."
"The state is fast to charge a lot of people these days, and you just wonder what good this does anybody," he said. "I don't see how it benefits society."
Campbell acknowledged cases involving animal abuse are typically difficult "because of the emotions that people -- all of us -- have about animals," but he said, on behalf of his client, there was no wrongdoing on Clark's part.
"Many of these animals were older and they probably would've died soon anyway," Campbell said. "Within the best of her means, my client was taking care of them."
According to court records, the 78-year-old Somerville woman is mentally competent to stand trial. She is scheduled to go on trial Oct. 7 in Lincoln County, court records show. | Source: Kennebec Journal - June 6, 2008
Update posted on Jul 6, 2008 - 9:17AM |
A 78-year-old woman accused of operating an unlicensed breeding kennel at her home in Somerville has pleaded not guilty to animal cruelty charges.
Fern Clark appeared Tuesday in Lincoln County Superior Court, where her lawyer challenged the validity of a search warrant that led to the seizure of 66 dogs, four cats and a cockatiel.
Police and state animal welfare officials who raided Clark's home in January said many of the dogs had serious health problems linked to neglect and malnutrition.
The case could go to trial this summer. | Source: Maine Today - June 10, 2008
Update posted on Jun 11, 2008 - 5:48PM |
An animal welfare case in Somerville could be dismissed in court if a search warrant is determined to lack probable cause. Fern Clark, 78, was charged on Jan. 30 with five counts of aggravated animal cruelty following the execution of a search warrant at her Hewett Road home. Animal welfare and law enforcement officials seized 71 animals, mostly small breed dogs, as a result of the Jan. 19 search warrant.
At a March 5 animal possession hearing in Wiscasset District Court, the animals were declared forfeited to the state by the court. State Veterinarian Christine Fraser testified "every dog and cat seized had major medical issues that could be traced to failure to provide necessary treatment."
Clark operated a licensed breeding kennel until 2005 when she stopped breeding dogs. In 2006 and 2007, she obtained the required town license for a regular kennel.
A motion filed by attorney Andrews Campbell on behalf of Clark asks the court to find that the State of Maine's search warrant was granted without necessary and required probable cause.
Campbell said in the motion that the Jan. 18 affidavit of Fraser lacked probable cause for a number of reasons, among them that Fraser, by her own admission, had not been in Clark's house since 2005, at which time Clark's kennel had been properly licensed by the state.
The search warrant for Clark's home was issued after Salem, N.H. police arrested a Massachusetts woman traveling with 22 dogs in her car, 12 of which she said were rescued from a "puppy mill" in Somerville. At least two of the dogs in her car were reported to have been dead.
"The state stepped in to protect the animals following investigations of complaints of a breeding operation in Somerville, Maine, and evidence procured during the arrest of a woman in Massachusetts," said a press release posted on the Maine.gov website that listed Animal Welfare Program Director Norma Worley as the contact.
Nearly half the dogs came from someplace else, said Campbell in the motion, "but where, and which ones?" Such questions cast aspersions on the informant's credibility, he said, leaving Fraser without "sufficient articulate suspicion to request a search warrant because there was no basis from any source that the animals were in need of necessary medical care."
Because the affidavit established no evidence of criminal activity, the purpose of the search warrant, said Campbell in the motion, was a "fishing expedition," designed to find "some type of probable cause for anything."
"They came in like gangbusters," said Campbell Tuesday, describing the Jan. 19 seizure in a phone conversation. The search warrant was executed when Clark was not at home, he indicated. Animal welfare and law enforcement officials left the windows and doors of the house wide open, said Campbell, causing Clark to lose all of her heating oil and the pipes to freeze in her house.
"I've been very cold," said Clark, indicating that she was without heating oil from Jan. 20 to Feb. 28. "They don't give a damn about old people anymore."
As of March 12, the state is estimated to have spent some $59,000 to maintain and treat the dogs, many of which have major medical issues, Worley said Tuesday. With cardiac problems and melanoma masses among the diagnoses, six of the dogs are in 24-hour intensive care she said.
"That's what it takes not to be cruel to animals?" said Campbell. "Do we do that well to our people in Maine Care?"
"It's very, very expensive to care for these animals," said Worley Tuesday. She estimated the cost to the state at $600 per day.
"If it cost the state $55,000, how do they expect [Clark] to do it?" Campbell said. Most of the dogs were 12 to 19 years old, he said. "Our view is, just because you've got cancer, would you want to be put out of your misery?"
A March 20 bond and restitution hearing is slated to address the high cost of maintaining the animals. Restitution could involve placing a lien on the Clark property, indicated Worley.
The press release posted on the Maine.gov website indicates that the animals will be evaluated and placed for future adoption at local humane societies. Campbell, however, is expected to ask for the return of Clark's animals. To "take all the animals before a finding of guilt is troubling," he said.
Asked about the psychology of a condition known as animal hoarding, Worley directed the inquiry to the Tufts University website.
The Tufts website indicates that the condition is characterized by keeping more than the typical number of companion animals, an inability to provide minimal standards of nutrition, sanitation and veterinary care, and denial of the inability to provide minimum care.
Clark faces five felony charges of aggravated animal cruelty. A Grand Jury trial is slated for April 8.
"They aren't going by their own laws," said Clark. "As far as I know, communism isn't in the country." | Source: Lincoln County News - March 12, 2008
Update posted on Mar 12, 2008 - 2:17PM |
There may be more charges stemming from the investigation of an illegal dog breeding facility in Somerville.
Last month, the state's Division of Animal Welfare rescued more than 60 dogs from inside the home of Fern Clark. Many of the dogs required extensive medical treatment. Fern Clark was charged with five counts of aggravated animal cruelty.
But now the spotlight is focusing on Clark's 56-year-old son, Matthew Clark. Lincoln County Sheriff's Detective Bob McFetridge says during the search for the dogs, they also found child pornography.
"When animal welfare was up there searching they actually found some photos they suspected was child pornboigraphy. So they stopped their search, they called me. I went up, viewed the photographs, I did a second search warrant and seized the photographs and some other materials, some computers," said Detective McFetridge.
Detective McFetridge says some of the photos were pornographic pictures of children. He is waiting for the state police experts to search the three computers taken from the house to see if there is any more evidence.
The detective says they will decide on charges after searching those computer files. He's also trying to find the identity of the children in the photos. | Source: WCSH - Feb 6, 2008
Update posted on Feb 6, 2008 - 10:45PM |
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