Puppy mill - 16 huskies, 2 puppies seized
Lowell, MA (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Oct 25, 2005
County: Middlesex
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Norman Raymond Coutu - Deceased
Case Updates: 4 update(s) available
On October 25, 2005, 16 huskies, including 2 puppies, living in garbage and piles of feces, without food or water, were seized from a Thomas Ave residence.
Norman Coutu, of 10 Thomas Ave., will soon face 16 class A misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty for failing to maintain the health, safety and welfare of his dogs, according to police Capt. Joseph Roark. Neighbors said Coutu had been selling husky puppies for $500 from his home for years.
Coutu, who is in a Lowell hospital for an unspecified illness, has has not been arrested. Roark said there is no rush, because the animals are safe and police have talked to Coutu's lawyer about the charges to be served.
�We've spoken to his attorney, trying to find a mutually agreeable time to serve him the papers,� Roark said. �There's no exigency at this time, given that the dogs are in custody.�
Coutu has been arrested twice before, police said -- in April 2004 for protective custody after an alcohol violation, and three months later for criminal threatening. A class A misdemeanor count of animal cruelty is punishable by at least one year in jail or a fine, Roark said.
Animal Control Officer Timothy Vincent visited Coutu's home on Oct. 25, following a tip. Vincent found the 16 dogs had neither food nor water, and several, including two 3-month-old puppies, were living unchecked inside the house up to their ankles in excrement and walking on urine-soaked carpeting.
The animals were locked inside a battery of pens fashioned from a large truck trailer at the rear of the property, wet and covered with urine-soaked wood chips. The trailer had neither heat nor ventilation, Vincent said.
Vincent returned with a search warrant from Salem District Court the following day because he believed the situation was dire. �The dogs couldn't even walk (outside the kennels) because they'd never been out,� Vincent said. �We had to carry them to the truck. They were up to their ankles in feces.� The dogs are being treated for worms, have been bathed and are on special diets, Vincent said, and volunteers are working to socialize them with the hope they might be adoptable. Six are being held by Pelham Animal Control, while four are in Hudson's animal shelter and four are in the Salem animal shelter. The two puppies are under the care of a veterinarian, Vincent said.
According to Vincent's affidavit, Coutu had apparently asked a neighbor to care for the dogs before he was admitted to Saints Memorial Medical Center on Oct. 24. The neighbor tried to care for the dogs but found them to be aggressive, and called police after seeing the state of Coutu's property.
Last summer, Vincent cited Coutu for operating his kennel in violation of New Hampshire licensing laws. Also, neighbors phoned police and animal control at least four times over the past two years to report late-night barking and loose dogs.
�As an animal lover and pet owner, it bothered me,� said Karey Bagrowski, Coutu's neighbor for two years, who said his dogs used to barrel across her property on occasion. �We had no idea how many dogs he had.�
�If you're not going to take care of dogs properly, get them a new home,� added Bagrowski's mother, Karen Bagrowski. �But I feel really bad because he's been very ill. I don't know what his relationship is with his kids, but he's alone. There's no way he can take care of them.�
Ed Friend, who lives two doors down from Coutu and eats breakfast with him regularly, agreed. He said his neighbor's illness made it impossible for him to give the dogs the care they needed.
�As a good neighbor, I'd try to help him, check in on him,� Friend said. �He loved those dogs, used to go out back, feed them and hug them and pet them and all that. But it got to the point that he couldn't do it by himself, and couldn't even care for himself.�
No one answered Coutu's door. His listed phone number has been disconnected. Attempts to reach him in his room at Saints Memorial Medical Center also proved unsuccessful.
Coutu is scheduled to appear Nov. 28 in Salem District Court, police said.
Case Updates| A 53-year-old Pelham man who pleaded guilty to a single count of animal cruelty earlier this month, avoiding more serious charges partially because of severe health problems, died on February 23, 2006. Coutu appeared ill in Salem District Court when he plead guilty on February 13, 2006, and at that time told the court doctors had given him just nine months to live. | Source: Lowell Sun - February 27, 2006
Update posted on Feb 28, 2006 - 4:50PM |
Norman Coutu -- the owner of 16 huskies seized in an Oct. 25 raid -- pleaded not guilty by mail waiver to all 16 counts of animal cruelty at his hearing at Salem, N.H., District Court on December 12, 2005.
Sixteen dogs, including two puppies, were seized from Coutu's Thomas Avenue home and backyard kennel when animal-control officers found the pups ankle deep in feces and urine-soaked woodchips, without access to food, water, heat or proper ventilation.
If found guilty, Coutu could face up to a year in jail for each count of animal cruelty and/or a $2,000 fine. The latest wrinkle in the case, according to Pelham Sgt. Gary Fisher, the prosecutor in the case, is that several of the huskies are pregnant and due to have their puppies as soon as this week. Fisher said the pending births lend a new urgency to the case, which has pitted Coutu -- whom his family and friends say is ill and frequently hospitalized, but deeply devoted to the dogs -- against area animal lovers and local police.
�We're negotiating the outcome of where the dogs are going to be,� Fisher said. �It's our stance that they will not be returned to Mr. Coutu.� Ten of the dogs are in the increasingly crowded Pelham animal shelter, tended by volunteers working to rehabilitate and socialize them, while four others remain at the Salem, N.H. Animal Rescue. Two, 3-month-old puppies, are still under care of a local veterinarian. More than 100 people have come forward to place their names on a list to adopt the animals, which cannot be released due to the fact they're considered evidence in the case against Coutu. According to police reports and an affidavit, Coutu asked a neighbor to care for the dogs before being admitted to Saints Memorial Medical Center on October 24, 2005. The neighbor attempted to tend to the dogs but found them aggressive and called police after seeing the state of Coutu's property.
Last summer, Vincent cited Coutu for operating his kennel in violation of New Hampshire licensing laws. Coutu's immediate neighbors confirmed that they had phoned police and animal control at least four times over the past two years to report late-night barking and loose dogs.
Coutu has been arrested twice before, police said. In April 2004, he was put in protective custody after an alcohol violation, and three months later, he was arrested for criminal threatening.
Coutu's trial date is set for Feb. 13 in Salem District Court. | Source: Lowell Sun Online - December 12, 2005
Update posted on Dec 16, 2005 - 11:43AM |
The owner of 16 Siberian huskies that were seized from his Pelham home last month faces animal cruelty charges.
Norman Coutu, 53, of 10 Thomas Ave. was charged with a misdemeanor count of animal cruelty for each dog that police took from his home in late October.
Police Capt. Joseph Roark said yesterday officers served paperwork to Coutu's lawyer, Scott Bratton of Lowell. Police said they learned the dogs were living in squalid conditions when a neighbor called the town's animal control officer. The neighbor had been asked by Coutu to care for the animals while he was being treated at a local hospital, according to a police affidavit. All of the animals are now being cared for at area shelters while the criminal case is pending.
Coutu is scheduled to appear in Salem District Court on Dec. 12. If convicted, he could serve up to a year in jail for each offense and could be ordered to pay a $2,000 fine. | Source: The Eagle Tribune
Update posted on Nov 29, 2005 - 4:35PM |
Police say a local dog breeder is expected to be charged soon with multiple counts of animal cruelty after 16 of his huskies were seized from what they called a filthy environment without food or water.
Police started investigating the conditions of Norman Coutu�s 10 Thomas Ave. home after a neighbor reported that his kennels were soiled with animal feces and urine and that the dogs had not been fed for two days, according to court papers. The huskies have been living in shelters since Oct. 26, when police seized them acting on a search warrant.
Timothy Vincent, the Pelham Police Department�s animal control officer, said in court papers that there was garbage, animal waste and several dogs running free throughout the house while Coutu was away. He said the dogs did not have food or water in the kennels and they �were living in animal feces, and the animals were wet and were covered with urine-soaked wood chips.�
In an interview at his home yesterday, Coutu, 53, said the accusations are unfounded. Anyone who would treat dogs like that, he said, �should be shot.� He said he hopes to get the dogs returned to him as soon as possible, but added that he believes it�ll be �a heck of a battle.�
�That�s the only thing that kept me going was those dogs,� he said. �I miss them like hell.�
Pelham Police Capt. Joseph Roark said he believes that if the state finds that Coutu�s kennels have been improved, he�ll be able to get the dogs back. He said police have made arrangements with Coutu�s lawyer to bring him up on the charges.
�There are no more dogs that are in harm�s way,� Roark said. �We don�t think he�s a danger to society. We don�t think he�s a flight risk.�
As of yesterday, six of the dogs were being held at the Pelham Police Department�s animal shelter, four were in Hudson and four were in Salem, Roark said. Also, he said, two puppies were being cared for at private residences.
Coutu had been hospitalized at Lowell (Mass.) General Hospital when police seized the dogs, as well as his goldfish. Coutu said he had asked his neighbor to look after the dogs while he was being treated for liver problems, and then paid someone else to tend to them.
The neighbor told police he tried to take care of the dogs, but stopped because one of them was too aggressive, according to court papers. Vincent said in his affidavit that it appeared that no one had been at the house between Oct. 25 and Oct. 26; business cards left on the property were still there.
Coutu said he has bred huskies since 1994 and has treated it like a hobby. He said he�s afraid that the charges will make people who don�t know him think he�s a cruel person.
�I won�t leave my house, fearing that they�re looking at me the wrong way,� he said. | Source: Union-Leader - Nov 18, 2005
Update posted on Nov 21, 2005 - 6:18PM |
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