Greenwich woman fights to get dogs back
Palmer was previously charged with animal cruelty
NEW CANAAN — Two divergent pictures were painted Wednesday of a New Canaan house where police say three dogs died and 12 others were rescued.
Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm described excrement on the floor and a door, dogs with feces matted in their fur, and the presence of the parvovirus that killed at least two puppies.
Catherine Palmer, owner of the home and of the dogs, talked of a large kitchen cleaned several times a day, dogs that had been vaccinated for parvovirus even though it is not required, and the trauma she and others faced when animal control seized her dogs.
The testimony was made Wednesday during a virtual hearing before Superior Court Judge Kenneth Povadator, who is considering the town’s petition seeking custody of the dogs.
Palmer is also facing criminal charges of three counts of cruelty to animals stemming from the deaths
of the puppies in her Butler Lane home, police said.
Palmer, who lives in Greenwich and rents out the New Canaan home, turned herself in Sunday and is free on $10,000 bond.
During Wednesday’s civil court hearing, Halm described how she was first called to the home in August when a tenant reported a sick dog. Halm testified she returned to the home in September after the three puppies died. She described the animals as being neglected and living in feces in the kitchen, according to her testimony.
Attorney Mark Kratter, representing Palmer, said he had just been hired and needed time to prepare his defense, which he said will include expert witnesses.
Sitting in her attorney’s Norwalk office, Palmer described the Butler Lane residence as “very large, like most homes in New Canaan,” estimating the size of the kitchen at 40 feet by 20 feet.
Halm said a necropsy performed by the University of Connecticut on two of the dead puppies showed both had parvovirus and one also had pneumonia. Parvovirus, which could be fatal if left untreated, causes vomiting and bloody diarrhea, Halm said.
The pneumonia, she
said, was caused when the puppy aspirated vomit.
Under cross examination, Kratter confronted Halm with evidence he said showed the puppies had been vaccinated against parvovirus.
“I see handwritten notes,” Halm replied, adding that she saw no veterinarian information.
“These are labels from vials,” Halm said. “Who gave these vaccines?”
When Palmer testified, she told Kratter she had just picked up the puppies from someone else, and one had been given three vaccines that covered parvovirus, while the other two dogs each had been given two vaccines.
But Halm told Kratter the dogs should be taken from Palmer due to parvovirus.
“What other reasons?” Kratter asked.
“Consistent neglect,” Halm responded.
While being questioned by her attorney, Palmer said she was at the house except when she traveled, and she paid a tenant and a professional cleaner who sanitizes shelters and kennels to clean the house daily.
The sides differed on whether Palmer’s tenant was paid to clean up after and care for the dogs. Asked by Kratter if the tenant told her she was paid, Halm replied, “She absolutely said she was not
paid.”
During Palmer’s testimony, Kratter produced records from the online payment system Venmo that he argued showed his client paid the tenant to care for the dogs.
“She would pay, minus a certain amount for dog cleanup and care,” Palmer testified.
Palmer said she offered to pay the tenant more, but claimed the woman refused and accepted a fee she was “comfortable with.”
Under cross examination, attorney Nicholas Bamonte, of Berchem Moses PC, representing New Canaan, singled out entries on the online ledger, saying there were differences in the amount kept by the tenant to offset work toward room and board, even occasions when she kept no money.
“That was her decision,” Palmer replied.
Palmer then said the tenant quit because she was “so traumatized by what happened with animal control.”
“There’s a lot of people traumatized, including my minor children,” she testified.
Kratter said his client, who faces a $500 bond and $15 daily fee for each dog as they remain in the temporary care of the town, will continue to fight to keep them.
Another virtual hearing is scheduled for Dec. 18.