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Case ID: 5851

Classification: Neglect / Abandonment

Animal: rodent/small mammal (pet)

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Case #5851 Rating: 5.0 out of 5

3 hamsters released into wild
Raymond, NH (US)

Incident Date: Thursday, Sep 30, 2004
County: Rockingham

Disposition: Convicted

Defendants/Suspects:
» Marilyn Marquis
» Anthony Canzano

Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

The owner and an employee of Little Critter Pet Center pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges after a witness saw the employee release hamsters into the wild.

The owner, Anthony Canzano of Salem, and an employee, Marilyn Marquis of Deerfield, pleaded guilty to one count of animal cruelty each. Both had the $300 fine issued with the charge suspended, conditioned on good behavior.

The court also ordered $1,725 restitution be paid to the New Hampshire Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for care of the animals.

The incident occurred in October 2004 when Marquis released three hamsters, one of which was pregnant, by a trash bin behind the post office in Raymond.

Animal Control Officer Tona McCarthy said a resident who witnessed the incident collected the hamsters in a box and followed Marquis back to the Little Critter Pet Center, located at 15 Freetown Road.

"I followed up and it was confirmed that she did work there," said McCarthy, adding Canzano was aware of Marquis' actions.

State law prohibits the abandoning of any animal in captivity, household pet or wild animal, without "proper provision for its care, sustenance, protection or shelter."

McCarthy said there were conflicting reports as to why the animals were being released, but said the bottom line is the animals were in custody and abandoned.

"(Canzano) told me he thought it was OK because they are rodents," he said. "But in the type of business he is in, I would assume he'd know it was a domesticated animal."

Several calls to Canzano's office and stores in Raymond and Exeter were not returned before deadline.

McCarthy said there is no way the animals would have survived in a northeast climate in October.

"Not in that type of an environment," he said. "They're a domesticated animal originally from desert areas and it was too cold."

Steve Sprowl, animal cruelty investigator for the SPCA, said one of the hamsters had health problems and needed to be euthanized for reasons not connected to the charges. He did say the pregnant hamster gave birth to five healthy babies.

The hamsters will remain in the custody of the SPCA as part of the court agreement, according to McCarthy.

McCarthy said Marquis and Canzano were originally charged with three counts of animal cruelty, but each had two counts dropped.

Little Critters Pet Center has stores in Exeter, Raymond and Littleton.

Case Updates

RAYMOND - The owner of Little Critters Pet Center said the reason three hamsters were released into the wild, which led to animal-cruelty charges, is he thought they stood a better chance of survival than at the New Hampshire Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Anthony Canzano, owner of three pet stores in New Hampshire, and one of his employees pleaded guilty to animal-cruelty charges last month in connection with an October 2004 incident in which the employee released three hamsters behind the Raymond post office.

Canzano said this week that his store, located at 15 Freetown Road, could not sell the hamsters because they bit anyone who tried to touch them. He said he knew the SPCA would just kill the animals and wanted to give them a chance to live.

"It would've been cruel to sell them to somebody ... We do not sell animals that bite," said Canzano. "We felt they stood a better chance in the wild than to be euthanized."

Canzano also said they did not know one of the hamsters was pregnant when it was released.

An invoice detailing the charges owed to the SPCA, provided by Canzano, showed one of the adults and five babies were euthanized by the SPCA after it took custody last October. The invoice also showed that each hamster costs $10 per day for care, which amounted to $6,510 over the course of eight months. It also shows a $10 cost for euthanasia and disposal.

"They were babies," said Canzano. "They could have found homes for them."

Karen Caswell, adoption counselor for SPCA, said the babies had to be euthanized because the mother tried to eat them and critically injured the youngsters. The mother was also euthanized because she had a large tumor on her underbelly, she said.

"She cared for them for about a month and then decided she didn't want them anymore."

She said the two other adult hamsters were recently adopted and posed no threat to their new owners.

Caswell said the SPCA's euthanization policy does not allow for animals to be put down for space or time constraints. She said the only reason an animal would be euthanized is if it is very aggressive or has an incurable health problem.

"That's what we're here for. If there's an issue and they can't be cared for, we can care for them," said Caswell. "Or at lease euthanize them in a humane manner so they're not getting eaten or something else happens to them. It's just better for them."

State law prohibits the abandoning of any animal in captivity, household pet or wild animal, without proper provision for its care, sustenance, protection or shelter. Canzano said he did not realize the law applied to hamsters, which he thought were like any other rodent.

He also said the hamsters were an all-white breed that burrows through snow for food, which led store workers to believe they could make it in the cold climate.

Caswell said any animal that has been cared for and had food provided its whole life would not know to forage for food. She also said the hamsters were less than a year old.

"It would be better to bring them here than have them fend for themselves," she said.

Canzano insisted Little Critters, which has stores in Exeter, Littleton and Raymond, has never had a bad review from state inspectors and in no way engages in or supports any type of cruelty to animals. He said he pays veterinarian bills upward of $1,000 a month in each of his stores to ensure the animals are healthy.

He said the store could no longer care for the animals because they presented a health problem to his employees and anyone who would adopt them.

"We just thought they had a better chance in the wild than at the SPCA," said Canzano. "We've never had any (hamsters) quite this mean. Usually we can work with the animal, but as soon as you put a hand in the cage they'd be ready to bite."

He said police reports said one of the hamsters bit a person at the Raymond Police Department.

Caswell said the reason hamsters can be mean is because they are nocturnal animals and can be grumpy when awoken.

"So basically when you're playing with them during the day you're waking them up," she said. "You just need to know they're not awake and coherent at all times."

Sue Sygan, manager of the Raymond store, said all of her employees genuinely care for the well-being of the animals they have. She said some have even brought animals to their homes to nurse them back to health.

"Little Critters has an excellent reputation and we've been doing business for about 20 years," said Sygan. "We get a number of people complimenting (us) about the care of our animals."

Canzano said the only reason he chose to plead guilty was to avoid further court procedures and settling allowed them to have the violation deleted from the record in a year. He said his attorney did not think he should respond to the issue further, but he wanted to set the record straight.

"It just didn't feel right not responding," he said. "I have great people working for me, and they wouldn't work for me if I wasn't ethical."

Source: Exeter News Letter
Update posted on Nov 4, 2005 - 4:30PM

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- Oct 30, 2005

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3 hamsters released into wildRaymond, NH (US)

Case Updates

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3 hamsters released into wild
Raymond, NH (US)