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18 animals seized
New Hartford, CT (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, May 25, 2011
County: Litchfield
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged:
» Patricia Fields
» David Fields
What moves a person to be cruel to an animal - whether passively or aggressively - remains one of nature's mysteries. But when you consider the owner of a dog grooming business arrested for animal cruelty, the issue takes on an ironic twist.
Patricia Fields, 54, and her son, David Fields, 24, were arrested in late November, 2011 on 17 counts of animal cruelty and 10 counts of failure to license dogs combined between the two. The animals rescued on May 25, 2011, were their pets. Fortunately, not a single one of the animals allegedly abused were clients of her pet grooming business, Love on a Leash.
Patricia Fields has been the owner of the business, located on Litchfield Turnpike, where she also resides, for 26 years.
Within 20 hours of receiving a complaint for neglected dogs and cats, New Hartford Animal Control Officer Les Archer obtained a search and seizure warrant to search Fields' house, grounds and grooming parlor.
The sworn statement from the complainant said while at the Fields' home in May, she observed that dogs were kept in the basement and in the upstairs bedroom of the home in filthy conditions. She also stated the dogs went for days without being fed, were never taken outside, and had to defecate in the rooms where they were being kept.
When the search and seizure warrant for the animal cruelty complaint was served on May 25, law enforcement officials found appalling conditions, according to the affidavit obtained by the Register Citizen.
The sworn statement in the affidavit carefully describes the conditions agents encountered that day.
Overcome by the smell of ammonia caused by high levels of urine when agents entered the home, the odor became increasingly nauseating as they proceeded through the home. On the second floor, all the bedrooms housed animals - dogs and birds. None of the birds had food or water; the dogs were all exceedingly thin and underweight. All of those animals were immediately removed from the home, according to the report.
When Patricia Fields opened the basement door for the agents, the smell of ammonia and fecal matter filled the air. Archer stated in the affidavit that as he made his way down the stairs his eyes burned from the urine of the three severely emaciated Pit Bull mixes discovered in the basement.
The dogs were being kept within a combined space directly underneath the basement stairs. The entire floor of the pen the dogs were kept in was completely covered in wood shavings soaked in urine and fecal matter. There was no food and the only means of fresh air for the dogs was a two-inch hole in the exterior hatchway doors.
The three dogs were immediately removed from the home and were the first to be sent to Winsted Animal Hospital for a health screen.
After the house had been cleared of all animals, four more dogs were found in the backyard pen, underweight, and infested with fleas.
In all, 18 animals were seized and removed that day from the Fields residence.
The nightmare did not end there.
Of the three severely emaciated Pit Bulls, two were euthanized. At the end of June, the first dog euthanized was immediately sent out to University of Connecticut Storrs Animal Science Laboratory for a necropsy.
The final pathology report results stated that none of the dog's internal organs were within normal size limits.
The second dog was unable to accept food or nutrients and became extremely aggressive, according to reports. It was euthanized a week later.
Reports indicate that one seven-week old puppy died the week before the search and seizure.
After execution of the search and seizure warrant, a lengthy process followed leading to the arrest of Patricia and David Fields.
"It took this case to really understand what can be done," Archer said.
Archer was referencing the understanding of the authority he has as the Chief Animal Control Officer. He is a law enforcement official, and as an officer of the court and has the power to make arrests.
Among the agents present to assist Archer with the search and seizure were top officials from Connecticut's Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Inspection and Regulation dealing with Animal Control, Supervisor Ray Connors and Officer Richard Gregan.
Archer believed the state officials would take the lead and initiate the arrest. Once learning that he had the arrest authority, he immediately sought the assistance of New Hartford's resident troopers and the State Police in putting together the necessary warrant for arrest.
"Nothing was lost in the delay," Archer said. "The time that past actually allowed us to gather even stronger evidence to build the case leading to a successful arrest."
The necropsy is part of the evidence to which Archer refers.
"The evidence obtained in the necropsy of the first dog that needed to be euthanized provided the facts we needed regarding the state of health the animals were in," Archer said.
Connors has 28 years in animal control. He's held his position with the Department of Agriculture for the last two years, and has been an advocate of mandatory training for animal control officers.
"It's not something that is required", Connors said, "We're hoping we'll see something in this legislative session."
The Fields' will appear in court for a second time on Jan. 12. They could not be reached for comment. It will be up to a judge whether Patricia Fields keeps her license. The Love on a Leash sign at the Litchfield Rd. address has been taken down. References |
