The court-appointed attorney for a Groveland woman accused of animal cruelty said it isn't cruelty at all and that the 29 dogs she was raising are in "perfect health."
"A bunch of dogs running around a house that's messy does not meet the criteria for animal cruelty," Michael Baldassarre said during the arraignment of Danya Dufour, 33, yesterday in Haverhill District Court.
Dufour and Jackson Rivera Cruz, 29, were arrested Sept 15 by Groveland police after authorities found 29 dogs covered in excrement and urine in their 103 Main St. home.
Judge Stephen Abany released Dufour on personal recognizance and ordered her not to have any pets in her care until the case against her is resolved.
Dufour was charged with cruelty to 29 dogs, two cats, one ferret and one iguana. She also was charged with possession of class D and E substances, possession of hypodermic syringes and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Cruz faces the same animal cruelty and drug charges, as well as possession of a dangerous weapon (a double-edged knife), giving a false name and false address to police, and operating a motor vehicle without a license.
According to officials with the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Dufour and Cruz were raising and selling dachshunds from the Main Street residence.
According to a police report, when officers entered Dufour's house to investigate they were "immediately taken back by the extremely strong odor that was inside of this house, as well as the amount of animals that were running all over the inside of this house."
The report goes on to say police observed what appeared to be animal feces all over the floors and furniture, trash and food covering the floors and furniture, various insects everywhere, and several dogs locked in small cages with feces covering their cages.
Baldassarre, the defense attorney, questioned the legitimacy of the search by police saying it was conducted without a warrant.
"I don't think it's a proper search that meets the elements of the statute," Baldassarre said.
Abany told Baldassarre that if the animals lived in conditions that amounted to torment, that he thought it might meet the criteria for cruelty to animals, adding, "It's possible the search could be justified."
In an effort to prove that the dogs were in good health, Baldassarre asked the judge for money to pay for an independent examination of the dogs by a veterinarian today "without hindrance from the MSPCA."
Abany also suggested photographs be taken of the dogs as a visual record of their physical condition.
Employees at the MSPCA were still examining the dogs at shelters throughout the region yesterday.
The dogs did not all go to the same shelter because "there's such a large number," MSPCA spokesman Brian Adams said. "To put them all at one adoption center would be a real drain."
It will be up to the court to decide if and when the MSPCA can put the dogs up for adoption, Adams said.
Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Faitella told the judge that Cruz initially told police his name was Jesus Ortiz. She said he has a lengthy court record that includes charges of assault and battery, resisting arrest and violating a restraining order.
Faitella said both Cruz and Dufour had claimed the drugs found by police were owned by the other person and that after police arrested them Cruz said he lived at the Groveland house.
Cruz's court-appointed attorney, Edward English, told the judge that his client claims he lives in Lawrence with his mother and that he was only visiting Dufour's house in Groveland.
"He denies living there or possessing anything that is there," English said.
Abany ordered Cruz held on $2,500 cash bail and ordered him and Dufour to appear in Haverhill District Court Oct. 16 for a pretrial hearing. Abany also ordered Cruz not to have any pets in his care until the case against him is resolved. Case Updates| The pretial hearing was delayed until November 15, 2006. | Source: Docket #063CR22
Update posted on Oct 20, 2006 - 9:30PM |
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