MASSACHUSETTS -- For months now, neighbors have heard barking from the backyard of a condemned house on Stony Brook Road. But there's no owner there to soothe the two Shetland sheepdogs.
"They howl and they sound scared," said Nick Zappia, who lives next door.
Zappia's neighbor Leanne Trefry has been out of the Stony Brook Road house since November, said the Rev. John Dolan, of nearby Our Lady of the Cape church. The Brewster Board of Health condemned the property last summer after piles of clothes, rotting food and trash were piled 4 feet high inside.
But Trefry's dogs are still on the private property. They live in a fenced-in, overgrown backyard with a doghouse for shelter and access to the inside of the house, said Police Chief Richard Koch. Dolan has been feeding them.
But the dogs' licenses are not up to date, and there is no record that they have current rabies shots, according to Brewster Town Clerk Colette Williams.
Neighbors have been calling the town and the police for months to have someone care for them. But the police say there isn't much they can do.
"I know they are ungroomed and have ticks," Koch said in an email to the Times. But, technically, the dogs are not neglected, and cannot legally be removed from the property, he wrote.
"If they were 'neglected,' nobody would be giving them food or water, and we would remove them," he said.
It's a bit of uncharted territory, defining the point in time when the animals are considered neglected, Koch said. Ultimately, it's up to the animal control officer's discretion, he said.
Trefry, who could not be reached for comment, is in a medical facility, Koch said. Her lawyer traded voice mails with a Times reporter but could not be reached for an interview.
The animal control officer, Lynda Brogden-Burns, visited the dogs as recently as July 12 and has talked several times with Trefry, police Capt. Heath Eldredge wrote in an email to the Times.
In April, Brogden-Burns sent a warning letter to Trefry because the dogs were not being provided adequate shelter, wrote Eldredge.
"To protect the animals while Ms. Trefry worked on providing a shelter, we temporarily took custody of the dogs and had them boarded," he wrote. "Ms. Trefry did make the required improvements to her property, and the dogs were returned."
They were returned to the unoccupied property, groomed and fluffy, Koch said.
But the dogs' long hair soon became matted and tick-infested again, according to a neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous.
The animal control officer recently consulted with colleagues, including Lt. Alan Borgal, of the law enforcement department of the Animal Rescue League of Boston.
"At this point, though the dogs living conditions are not ideal, Lt. Borgal and Brewster animal control have determined that the shelter and care for the dogs is within legal limits," Eldredge wrote.
Trefry could voluntarily give up custody of the dogs, but so far she refuses, Dolan said.
He has been feeding the dogs since November to help Trefry, he said. But recently he decided he cannot continue because "I am enabling the dogs to remain in a bad situation."
The priest said he has told Trefry he will stop feeding the dogs on July 31. He hopes that she will decide to voluntarily give up the animals. If she doesn't, he hopes the town will have the power to move them if they aren't being fed, he said.
The dog officer and Animal Rescue League are trying to set up a meeting with the Brewster Board of Health, Trefry and her attorney, according to emails between the police chief and Brogden-Burns.
Attempts to reach Trefry's attorney, Anthony Alva, were not successful.
If the dogs are removed or Trefry gives them up, New England Sheltie Rescue, which takes in abandoned or unwanted Shetland sheepdogs, will accept them, said Alanna Kelly, of Norwood, who volunteers with the organization.
Trefry moved into the house about four years ago. Her father had left it in his will to Tufts University, but granted her life-tenancy, she told the Times last year.
The modest Brewster home was once beautifully landscaped, neighbor Ben Aleo said. But the yard is now a tangle of bramble and weeds. A white Cadillac Escalade and a horse trailer — unlicensed — are parked on the property.
Trefry came to the attention of the Brewster Board of Health in February 2011 when she called the rescue squad.
At first, firefighters couldn't get into her house because of the clutter. Once inside, they were confronted with a "severe foul odor" and 4-foot piles of her belongings, according to court documents.
The Board of Health condemned the Stony Brook house in August, but Trefry was allowed to return to clean it.
It became clear, however, that she was still living there even after it was condemned. The town rescue squad was called there four times and found Trefry inside, according to court documents. In November, a Barnstable judge imposed a restraining order, barring her from the property, which police say is still active.
According to Barnstable Superior Court records, a civil case related to Trefry's occupation of the house is due back in court on Sept. 10.
"Many agencies are involved in trying to help her, and neighbors have tried to help as well," Koch said. "But all of the assistance hasn't improved the situation. So the next question is, where do we go from here?"
(Cape Cod Online - July 27, 2013)
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