Dozens of animals were taken to the SPCA in Queensbury following a late night house raid in Granville. State Police along with the SPCA raided the Carey Road home of Maria Hurd on the evening of July 20.
Officials said the 31 dogs, cats and birds they rescued were living in filth.
Cathy Cloutier of SPCA said, "The conditions were deplorable. The house was condemned based on those conditions by the Code Enforcement officer. The woman was aware of it. She said she was trying to pick it up. She needed help doing it, and her help never showed up. Unfortunately it was not fit for her or any person to be living in."
Police charged Hurd with animal cruelty. There's no word yet on whether Hurd will get any of the animals back. Case UpdatesNew York State Police charged Maria J. Hurd of Granville with failure to provide sustenance for her 27 dogs back in July, and after a misunderstanding between the district attorney�s office and the judge, the charge had to be refiled.
According to the Post Star, the district attorney�s office was forced to refile the animal neglect misdemeanor count after the prosecutors failed to show up for the trial�s first day. The prosecutors apparently thought that a postponement had been granted. Because of their absence, Hurd and her lawyer asked for a dismissal, and it was granted.
The judge issued a criminal summons in the case after realizing there was a misunderstanding. Authorities said no �double jeopardy� issue applies to the situation because no witnesses were called to testify. | Source: Capital 9 News - Nov 21, 2005
Update posted on Nov 21, 2005 - 6:11PM |
A town justice Tuesday dismissed an animal neglect charge brought against a Granville woman from whom 27 rare, purebred dogs were seized in July, officials said.
Justice Donald Parker dismissed the misdemeanor count of failure to provide sustenance that was filed against 57-year-old Maria J. Hurd the day State Police and the SPCA of Upstate New York raided her home.
That move came the day trial was scheduled in the case, a trial Hurd and her lawyer showed up for, but the Washington County District Attorney's Office did not.
That was because Parker had agreed to adjourn the case at the request of the district attorney's office, Washington County District Attorney Robert Winn said. Winn said his office had court scheduling conflicts and could not get a prosecutor to court for the case, and that Parker had agreed to postpone the case.
"Our ADA (assistant district attorney) was granted an adjournment but for some reason he (the judge) rescinded the adjournment," Winn said.
He said the adjournment was requested in part because defense lawyer Michael Martin had said he could not be in court at 9 a.m. Tuesday because of a schedule conflict. Martin, though, said he had talked to Winn about the case on Monday and indicated he would be present for trial.
Winn said he believed his office could have the charges re-filed despite the dismissal.
Martin, though, said he did not believe it could be prosecuted again.
"I was there for a trial; no one (from the prosecution) showed up," Martin said. "I consider it double jeopardy because we had a trial."
Winn, though, said he did not believe double jeopardy was a factor because no witnesses were called.
A woman who answered the phone at Granville Town Court referred comment to Parker at his home, but phone messages left there Tuesday were not returned.
Officials said they seized 27 Chinese crested and powder puff crested dogs as well as three parrots and a cat during the July raid at Hurd's home.
Hurd said Tuesday she planned to get 10 of her dogs and a parrot back from the SPCA.
She acknowledged she signed documents agreeing to give up custody of the others, but she said she was coerced into signing those documents as dogs were being taken away from her home.
She said the dogs she gave up belonged to a friend who had boarded them elsewhere but removed them from that situation when he learned they weren't being properly cared for.
She said they were brought to her dirty and infested with fleas.
Hurd said she had plenty of food on hand for the dogs and fed some of her favorites by hand.
She said she has been breeding the dogs for years and that the purebreds are worth $1,500 to $2,500 each.
"I just want to hold them -- what's left of them," she said of the dogs.
Granville's code enforcement officer condemned Hurd's house at the time of the seizure because of conditions found there, but Martin said Hurd and her family cleaned it to the point it was deemed habitable again. | Source: The Post Star - Nov 16, 2005
Update posted on Nov 16, 2005 - 6:55PM |
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