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Case #9834 Rating: 3.6 out of 5
Hoarding 20 dogs, 1 cat
Topsfield, ME (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Sep 21, 2006
County: Washington
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 1 files available
Defendant/Suspect: Margo Malpher
Case Updates: 3 update(s) available
A Topsfield woman whose animals were seized by state animal welfare agents last month was in court on Oct 20 wanting her 20 dogs and one cat returned.
Testimony is expected to resume in 4th District Court on Nov. 7.
The dogs seized included two Cavalier King Charles spaniel-poodle hybrids, one Cavalier King Charles spaniel and one white standard poodle. The remaining dogs were black miniature poodles. On Sept. 19, agent Chrissy Perry of the state's Animal Welfare Program went to the home of Margo Malpher on North Road, acting on a tip that the dogs' kennel was filthy. Perry found no one home but learned that Malpher frequently traveled to Massachusetts and often left the dogs alone, her report on file in the court said.
Perry said she could hear dogs barking inside the house and in the nearby kennel. "I could smell a strong odor of urine and feces coming from the area," her report said. "A large dog inside the house was jumping up and appeared to be smearing a brown substance resembling fecal matter on the window."
Perry left a notice and returned two more times, but Malpher still was not home.
On Sept. 21, Perry, along with a state veterinarian and trooper, went back to the Malpher residence. This time the dog owner was home.
The dogs were taken to the Bangor Humane Society. Several of the dogs had a black discharge coming from their ears. It took five groomers at the Bangor Humane Society all weekend to clean the dogs. The groomers found that several of the dogs appeared to have skin problems related to severe matting, and some had urine scalding on their bodies, especially their feet, the report said. Some of the pads on their feet were bleeding.
In court on Oct 20, Malpher's attorney, Ronald Bourget of Augusta, questioned the constitutionality of the law under which the dogs had been seized, but Judge John Romei read the law in question and disagreed. The hearing went forward.
Malpher testified that she had gone to Massachusetts on the day in question but was gone only 20 hours. She said when she returned she discovered animal welfare officials had been on her property because Perry had posted a notice.
The woman testified that her dogs were well cared for and explained that she left the hair matted on her poodles so they would not hurt themselves if they fell on rocks and ledge in her yard. She also testified that she had left one dog in the house, the other 19 dogs in the kennel. She said she slept in the kennel with the dogs.
When First District Attorney Paul Cavanaugh showed Malpher pictures of her dog, she testified that the pictures were useless to her because she could not identify them by picture. "They could be mine, they could be anyone else's," she said. "I have to see my dogs in person."
At first Malpher testified that she had groomed and clipped her dogs about three months before agents showed up on her property, but later testified that she had trimmed some of the dogs before she'd left. She couldn't remember how many.
She also testified that she couldn't remember how often she went to Massachusetts.
The state humane agent then testified that she had gone to the Malpher residence as the result of a complaint. Under direct examination by Malpher's attorney, he made much of the fact that the dogs were neither dehydrated, malnourished, injured nor maimed as defined by the statute under which the state had seized the animals.
But Perry testified that the matting prevented the dogs from relieving themselves and was in her opinion cruelty. She also testified that some of the dogs had burned feet.
Perry told the district attorney that when they entered the kennel the smell of urine was "overpowering." She also testified that neither the windows in the kennel nor the door to the exercise area was open.
She testified that Malpher cooperated with the agents in the removal of the dogs and cat.
Once the dogs were placed in the vehicles, Perry testified, the smell was so overpowering that she and the state's veterinarian had to ride to Bangor with their windows open.
Cavanaugh then directed Perry to the condition of the dogs. When she tried to describe the fecal matter that was matted in the dogs' hair, Bourget objected, saying there was not scientific evidence of feces. The judge rejected the objection.
Cavanaugh then showed Perry pictures of the dogs. She testified as to the condition of each of the dogs, including one named Fancy Free who had fecal matting over her eyes making it difficult for the dog to see.
Because of the lateness of the hour, Romei suspended the proceedings until Nov. 7.
Case UpdatesA Topsfield woman who was convicted in September of cruelty to animals has been sentenced to five years in jail with all but 10 days suspended, and must pay $13,000 in restitution to the state of Maine.
Margot Kathleen Nickerson-Malpher, 71, who represented herself, is appealing the ruling, however, and remains free on bail, First Assistant District Attorney Paul Cavanaugh said Friday.
The restitution represents less than half the actual cost of caring for the 20 dogs and a cat that were seized from her home more than four years ago, according to state officials.
After the animals were seized in October 2006, Nickerson-Malpher filed a $100 million lawsuit against the governor of Maine and a number of other state and local officials, claiming the state stole her dogs. The case wound its way through the court system and appeals process until the Maine Supreme Judicial Court determined in February 2008 that the state had the right to seize the animals.
Until that ruling, Cavanaugh said, the state had been caring for the dogs and cat, including providing shelter and medical attention. The animals all have since been adopted.
The ruling also paved the way for the state to continue court action against Nickerson-Malpher.
In a two-day trial in September, Nickerson-Malpher was found guilty of cruelty to animals after a Washington County jury deliberated less than 10 minutes.
It reportedly took five groomers at the Bangor Humane Society two days to clean the dogs after they were seized. The dogs included black miniature poodles, two Cavalier King Charles spaniel-poodle mixed breeds, one Cavalier King Charles spaniel and one white standard poodle.
The groomers described the dogs' hair as being so matted that their coats impeded their ability to move and their ability to relieve themselves, according to court records.
Cavanaugh said Justice Kevin Cuddy took Nickerson-Malpher's financial status into account while reviewing the Maine Department of Agriculture's expenses of $26,529.25 related to the seized animals, and before setting the restitution at $13,000.
During the sentencing in November, Cuddy also ordered probation for one year and assessed a $250 fine.
Cuddy also limited Nickerson-Malpher to owning only two nonbreeding dogs unless she proves to the court that she is capable of handling more animals, Cavanaugh said.
"The state is confident the Law Court will uphold this verdict and Ms. Malpher will eventually serve her jail time and probation period," Cavanaugh said Friday. "We hope to recover the court-ordered restitution and reduce the burden on all Maine taxpayers."
Nickerson-Malpher was unable to be reached Friday to comment on her sentence.
The group Responsible Animal Owners of Maine, which lobbies for animal owners' rights, at one time supported Nickerson-Malpher in her attempt to regain her dogs, and some of the organization's members attended the trial.
After the jury verdict in September, however, the group posted the following statement on its website at www.rao-of-me.com: "Due to what (in our opinion) we believe to be misinformation, half truths, innuendo, and blatant outright lies on the part of Margot Malpher, we withdrew our support of her plight and after seeing the evidence video and photos at her jury trial we can no longer allow Ms. Malpher to use our site to try and find her dogs.
"We do not condone abuse or neglect of animals or the abuse of people or power. It is our opinion the animal welfare program did the right thing in getting the dogs out of that situation and we commend them for that."
In addition, the American Kennel Club's Management Disciplinary Committee suspended Nickerson-Malpher from all AKC privileges for 10 years and imposed a $2,000 fine for conduct prejudicial to purebred dogs. | Source: bangordailynews.com - Dec 17, 2010
Update posted on Dec 21, 2010 - 7:08PM |
Margo Malpher of Topsfield, also known as Margaret Kathleen Nickerson-Malpher, has been convicted of animal cruelty involving 20 dogs and one cat and now faces a possible $100,000 restitution order.
That's the amount the state paid to care for the seized animals over many months while Malpher repeatedly appealed her case, which originated in September 2006.
While awaiting sentencing, Malpher, who still owns at least six dogs, is being monitored by the state's Animal Welfare Division.
Malpher will be sentenced during the first week in November at Washington County Superior Court, according to First Assistant District Attorney Paul Cavanaugh.
She was found guilty earlier this month after a two-day trial during which Malpher represented herself.
Cavanaugh said Monday that an inspection was conducted at Malpher's kennel immediately after the verdict. All of the dogs and a cat were seized four years ago when Malpher first was charged, but she since has acquired at least six other dogs, he said.
Humane Agent Christina Perry recently visited Malpher's home and inspected the kennel, Cavanaugh said. He said Perry found conditions to be unclean and recommended some corrective actions, but no new charges have been filed.
While Malpher was convicted because of the unclean conditions found in 2006, Cavanaugh said the conditions Perry discovered recently were not as bad. He said Perry would continue to monitor Malpher's kennel conditions pending sentencing.
All of the dogs seized four years ago were forfeited after a "protracted legal battle," Cavanaugh said. They included black miniature poodles, two Cavalier King Charles spaniel-poodle mixed breeds, one Cavalier King Charles spaniel and one white standard poodle.
It reportedly took five groomers at the Bangor Humane Society two days to clean the dogs.
The groomers described the dogs' hair as being so matted that their coats impeded their ability to move and their ability to relieve themselves, according to court records.
After the animals were seized, however, Malpher filed a $100 million lawsuit against the governor of Maine and a number of other state and local officials, claiming the state stole her dogs. The case wound its way through the court system and appeals process until the Maine Supreme Judicial Court determined in February 2008 that the state had the right to seize the animals.
Until that ruling, however, the state had been caring for the dogs and cat, including providing shelter and medical attention. The animals have all since been adopted.
Cavanaugh said he will be asking for reimbursement of those expenses at Malpher's sentencing and the bill could total between $90,000 and $100,000. Cavanaugh also is expected to ask that restrictions, and possibly a complete ban, of pet ownership be part of the sentencing. | Source: bangordailynews.com - Sep 20, 2010
Update posted on Dec 21, 2010 - 6:58PM |
The trial of a Topsfield woman charged with animal cruelty is expected to get under way Tuesday in Washington County Superior Court. The trial was delayed from November when the woman, Margo Malpher, also known as Margaret Kathleen Nickerson-Malpher, fell in the courtroom and was injured during jury selection.
Malpher reportedly was approaching the judge’s bench and fell off a small step, striking her head on the judge’s bench and suffering a serious laceration.
Malpher was charged four years ago with animal cruelty after 20 dogs and one cat were removed from her North Road home in Topsfield by authorities acting on a tip that the pets’ kennel was filthy.
A month later, Judge John Romei ruled that the animals had been “cruelly treated” and ordered them forfeited to the state. After the state seized the dogs, they were taken to the Bangor Humane Society. It reportedly took six volunteer professional groomers and others nearly three days to shear, bathe and treat the dogs.
Most of the dogs were black miniature poodles, though there also were two Cavalier King Charles spaniel-poodle mixes, one Cavalier King Charles spaniel and one white standard poodle.
After that seizure, Malpher filed a $100 million lawsuit against the governor and others claiming the state stole her dogs. The lawsuit was filed against Gov. John Baldacci, state Department of Agriculture Animal Welfare Division Director Norma J. Worley, Attorney General Steven Rowe, 4th District Court Judge John Romei, Justice of the Peace Daniel Lacasse of Calais, Washington and Hancock County District Attorney Michael Povich, First Assistant District Attorney Paul Cavanaugh of Calais, Maine Department of Agriculture Commissioner Seth Bradstreet III, state Department of Agriculture Animal Welfare Division veterinarian Christine Fraser and state animal welfare agent Christina Perry.
In February 2008, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court agreed that the state had the right to seize the animals because they had been cruelly treated.
The state’s highest court also rejected Malpher’s argument that the state acted improperly when it seized the animals and that the law in question under which the dogs were taken was vague.
First Assistant District Attorney Paul Cavanaugh said Malpher would be representing herself in the trial this week. | Source: Bangor Daily News - Aug 29, 2010
Update posted on Aug 30, 2010 - 3:03PM |
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