Monroe rescue director charged with 17 counts of animal cruelty, 63 cruelty charges pending

CONNECTICUT -- A Monroe-based animal rescue director earlier this month was charged with 17 counts of animal cruelty in Superior Court in Milford, in addition to 63 animal cruelty charges pending against him in Superior Court in Bantam.

Frederick Acker, 61, of 359 Spring Hill Road, was arrested while appearing in court on an unrelated matter. The director of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Connecticut was released on a promise to appear in court. Acker’s SPCA is not affiliated with the national organization.

Frederick Acker at his property in Bethlehem

Acker was charged with 63 counts of animal cruelty in November 2012 after Bethlehem animal control officials confiscated dozens of dogs from a freezing barn in Morris. An investigation into the man’s activities was prompted after a Bethlehem animal control officer received a report of a roaming dog.

As Bethlehem officials were investigating Acker’s Morris barn, Department of Agriculture officials were investigating Acker on accusations he neglected 17 dogs housed at the Milford Who’s Your Doggie kennel. Some of the same dogs were confiscated when officials took the 63 animals from Acker’s barn.
The kennel’s owners, Rich and Melissa Marter, told state Animal Control Officer Todd Curry that Acker broke a written agreement he made with the pair, to feed, clean and care for the animals while they stayed in the Marters’ licensed facility.

Acker allegedly also promised the Marters $6,000 and 12,000 pounds of dog food in exchange for housing the animals there.

However, in a warrant for Acker’s arrest, Who’s Your Doggie owners told Curry that Acker didn’t properly care for the dogs days after dropping them off.
According to the warrant, Acker ordered his employees to keep the small, transport-style cages stacked three high, and to “get in and out of there,” to cut down on overtime costs. As a result, the dogs were sometimes kept caged for up to 24 hours at a time. The Marters told Curry that Acker’s employees would sometimes not come to care for the dogs for two days in a row.
The Marters told Curry that at one point, “after just a few days, the urine and fecal matter accumulated inside and around the dog crates to the point it overflowed to a grated area and dripped down to the first floor where the other animals were kenneled.”

The dogs were described as being “covered” in fecal matter due to the confines of the crates, and showed signs of stress and disease, such as hair loss, barking, whining, pacing, worms, fleas and skin irritation.

“Both Marters stated, the smell of urine and fecal matter became so strong, it watered their eyes and caused them to become nauseated and dizzy,” Curry wrote in the warrant.

The Marters asked Acker to remove the dogs after they believed the agreement had been broken, and subsequently reported Acker to the Department of Agriculture. Curry began investigating the accusations in November 2012.

Some of those dogs were confiscated from Acker’s Morris barn that month.

In Bantam, Judge Wilson J. Trombley offered to return Acker’s “large” dogs and allow state shelters to adopt the “small” dogs, but Acker appealed the decision because he wanted all the dogs returned.

Also, some shelter officials said there was no guidance given to what constituted a “large” or “small” dog, and it was difficult to draw the line between them. The 63 dogs remain in state custody strewn throughout the state.
Acker is scheduled to appear in court on the Milford cruelty charges Sept. 13. In addition to the 63 counts of animal cruelty in Bantam and 17 in Milford, Acker also faces 37 counts of failing to provide notice of an adoption event in Milford, from July 2012.

(New Haven Register - Aug 28 2013)