Dog and puppies neglected, malnourished
Pittsfield, MA (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Dec 4, 2004
County: Berkshire
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged:
» Mark Daury
» Denise Daury
Animal cruelty charges have been filed against a Peck's Road couple who had an apparently malnourished pet boxer and a litter of puppies taken from their home last year. Mark Daury, 47, and his 32-year-old wife, Denise, are each scheduled to be arraigned on five counts of animal cruelty in Central Berkshire District Court on April 5.
Charges were filed after a show-cause hearing earlier last week.
The Daurys were previously in the news in April 2004 for being attacked by a pit bull that they owned.
Police and animal control officers were sent to the couple's home Dec. 4, 2004 after they received information from a neighbor of a person who purchased one of the puppies and was concerned about the health of the boxer.
Authorities arrived at the home and discovered the dog to be "completely malnourished" and the four puppies had their tails docked, according to papers on file in District Court.
"The boxer was severely emaciated, the [spine] and all ribs were showing," Officer William King wrote in his report.
The Daurys admitted to cutting the puppies' tails themselves, but said they had received the boxer in that condition from the previous owner, according to police reports.
Staffers at the municipal animal shelter, however, said they had "delivered many bags of high-quality dog food" to the Daury residence.
Animal Control Officer Sharon Clarkson ordered the animals removed from the house.
The boxer and her brood were examined by Dr. Colleen E. Flaherty of Berkshire Veterinary Hospital. The puppies were healthy, but the boxer was found to be "severely emaciated" and to have intestinal parasites, Flaherty wrote in a letter included with court documents.
The dogs were later placed in the Eleanor Sonsini Animal Shelter.
Shelter manager Kaila Drosehn said the boxer, which they named Sassy, weighed 40 pounds when she arrived. A healthy dog her size is supposed to weigh 60 pounds.
Drosehn said Sassy has since gained weight, and both she and her puppies were placed in new homes by Christmastime.
On April 19, 2004, police shot the Daurys' pet pit bull dead after the animal attacked its owners, two other people and tried to lunge at a police officer. References« MA State Animal Cruelty Map
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