Laura Sataline, 53, of 148 Eddy Glover Blvd., turned herself in Friday to face two separate arrest warrants charging her with two counts of cruelty to animals and two counts of violating an animal restraining order.
Police went to her home with a search warrant and seized four pit bulls, which are now in the care of the New Britain animal control facility. The dogs are in good health, but have scars indicating they likely had been fighting, Capt. Thomas Steck said.
Police had received complaints about animals at Sataline’s home as far back as 2011. However, she came under more intense scrutiny in March when security officers at Westfarms Mall called West Hartford police about a pit bull that was obviously injured and uncomfortable sitting in car.
The dog, Lucy, had several lacerations that Sataline said occurred when she was fighting with other pit bulls in her home, Steck said. The West Hartford Animal Control officer dealing with the case told Sataline to take the animal to a vet and notified New Britain police.
Lucy was treated, and New Britain police went to the home and spotted three or four pit bulls in the yard of the home in good health. But they were called back to Sataline’s house in November after a neighbor reported that four pit bulls were attacking a fifth pit bull in her yard.
The dog that had been attacked was Lucy, who Sataline decided to euthanize due to the cost of treating her injuries, Steck said.
At that time, New Britain police issued an animal restraining order on Sataline requiring her to have the remaining four pit pulls separated at all times within her home or her yard. The order also required Sataline to have the dogs muzzled and on a leash when they left the property.
“They were having a negative impact on the quality of life of the other residents of the neighborhood, and they were injuring each other,” Steck said.
About a week later, police were called to the home of one of Sataline’s relatives, who reported that two of Sataline’s pit bulls had killed her cat. On that day, Sataline had come to do a vacuum demonstration accompanied by the four dogs with no leashes or muzzles, Steck said.
The relative refused to let her in with the animals, so Sataline brought two home and came back with the remaining two, he said.
“She told the relative she could control the dogs,” Steck said. The relative allowed the dogs in and they immediately went after her cat, with another relative striking one dog with a crow bar to get the animal to drop the feline.
The cat died. The dog was not injured. The relative then told investigating officers that previously two of Sataline’s pit bulls, one of which was Lucy, were fighting and Sataline shut the door and allowed the fight to continue until Lucy had killed the other dog.
She then buried the other dog in the yard. The remaining dogs tried to unearth the dead animal, Steck said.
“We attempted to progressively intervene,” Steck said. “This was impacting the neighbors and the animals. We put a restraining order in place, which she didn’t follow. We executed a search warrant after she turned herself in and took control of the remaining four pit bulls.”
Sataline will appear in New Britain Superior Court in the coming weeks for the criminal charges. A civil hearing will be held to determine the best course of action for the pit bulls, Steck said.
(Central CT Communications - Jan 20, 2015)
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