The Great Danescape
84 pulled from ‘puppy mill’ mansion
Life wasn’t so great for these Danes.
Police and animal advocates rescued 84 Great Danes from horrific conditions in a gated mansion in Wolfeboro, NH, that was allegedly operating as a puppy mill, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported.
There was so much feces and urine throughout the $1.45 million, eight-bedroom compound that dogs were sliding around the floor when they were discovered, the paper reported Saturday.
“It was horrifying in and of itself, but I’ve never seen conditions like this in a house of that magnitude,” said Lindsay Ham- rick, state director for the Humane Society.
The home’s owner, Christina Fay, 60, was arrested and charged with two counts of misdemeanor neglect. She was released on bail on condition she not possess any animals while charges against her are pending, the Leader reported.
Rescuers also seized nine dogs that Fay kept in nearby Bartlett.
She reportedly sold the dogs for as much as $2,500 a pop under the kennel name De La Sang Monde.
“Sang monde” is French for “blood world.”
“The conditions were deplorable. I’m trying hard to find words to describe it,” said Wolfeboro Police Officer Michael Straugh.
“It was certainly a situation that no animal should be kept in,” he said.
The dogs rescued Friday ranged from puppies to adults.
Mitt Romney owns a summer home in Wolfeboro, an affluent town along Lake Winnipesaukee. French President Nicolas Sarkozy vacationed there in 2009.
Fay was living with two other adults in the mansion. Neither has been taken into custody, but police said they have not ruled out making additional arrests.
Some of the abused dogs were kept in cages, but many seemed to have the run of the place. The dogs were found all over the house and grounds, rescuers said.
Authorities suspect many of the rescued pups may be pregnant.
The dogs’ food was prepared in an area covered with rotting chicken, Hamrick said.
All of the pooches are receiving medical care from the state Humane Society.
Police began an investigation May 9 but did not retrieve the dogs sooner because of the logistics of hauling off dozens of hounds, which weigh up to 300 pounds each.
The Humane Society brought in an air-conditioned tractortrailer, but rescuers also needed three livestock trailers to supplement the big rig.