HELPING OUT
Those who would like to help support local shelters in their ongoing efforts to care for the dogs seized from Buxton can send contributions to:
The Animal Refuge League, P.O. Box 336 Westbrook, Maine 04098
The Animal Welfare Society, PO Box 43, West Kennebunk, Maine 04094
The state on Thursday moved dogs seized from a Buxton kennel to a temporary home in Portland.
“All the dogs are out of Buxton and in a temporary shelter at Bishop Street,” said Andrew Ferreira, executive director of the Animal Refuge League in Westbrook, which is housing of the 20 dogs.
Steve Jacobsen, executive director of the Animal Welfare Society in Kennebunk, which is caring for 90 of the dogs, said Tuesday about 150 were moved.
At the Portland site, which is operated by Happy Tails, a dog day- care, training and boarding facility, the dogs and puppies are being cared for by staff from the Animal Refuge League, Animal Welfare Society in Kennebunk and other agency volunteers.
A judge in Biddeford District Court Sept. 26 granted the state permanent custody of 249 dogs and puppies seized in a raid in August at J’aime Kennel in Buxton. But the kennel owners, John and Heidi Frasca, have appealed the court’s decision.
“Our people will be involved for some time since the family decided to contest,” said Ferreira. “They are not available for adoption yet.”
“We’ve had our heads down taking care of animals,” Jacobsen said.
The seizure of the dogs and puppies has been labeled the state’s largest ever. Norma Worley, director of the Animal Welfare Program in the Maine Department of Agriculture, has said that an estimated 24 dogs had been diagnosed with sarcoptic mange and about 36 with giardia. Health of the dogs delayed relocation.
The Frascas were issued 14 summonses for an unlicensed kennel, two summonses for animal cruelty, and one summons for failing to provide necessary medical treatment to animals. The Frascas have denied the charges.
John Frasca said Tuesday the appeal would be heard in U.S. District Court in Portland. “No court date has been set,” he said.
The Frascas have yet to retain a lawyer. “We’re winging it on our own with help of good people around the country,” Frasca said.
Meanwhile, Frasca has returned to his Paucek Road home in Buxton, which he and his wife vacated after the state seizure.
He said keys to the kennel were found taped to a door after the dogs were moved.
“The place is completely empty,” Frasca said Tuesday.
A tenant on the kennel property told Frasca that two big trucks moved the dogs. Frasca said the animal welfare workers left the kennel clean. “I have no complaint,” he said about the appearance of the kennel.
Staff from the Humane Society of the United States and the American Humane Association are assisting local agencies in caring for the animals. The American Humane Association’s 82-foot mobile clinic with a staff has been in Maine to assist caring for the dogs this month.
Kelley Weir, a spokeswoman for the American Humane Association in Denver, Colo., said Wednesday the big rig isn’t parked at the Bishop Street site but is nearby. She said some of the staff members are now living in the unit.
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