Amy Egeland, former part-time manager of the Fitchburg Animal Shelter, and her boyfriend, Sean Stanton, a professional dog trainer and former part-time animal control officer for Holden, intend to open a dog day-care, boarding, and training facility with the property’s owner, Carol Stacy, who was the city’s longtime animal control officer until she retired in 2011.
The new kennel at 939 High Rock Road, set on 5.3 acres of land with hiking trails and open fields, would be similar to a private facility Stacy had run there off and on for decades.
The city had leased part of the property from Stacy from 2011 to 2014 and used it to house a shelter for strays, which Egeland managed for two years before the city closed it and laid off Egeland after a state investigation concluded she had unlawfully euthanized a dog.
The project has to be approved and licensed by the city, and Fitchburg police said it is under review.
Fitchburg Police Deputy Chief Paul Bozicas said Stanton applied for a license to operate a kennel on the property and before approving it, the city is awaiting results of an independent inspection conducted by the dog control officer for the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.
Bozicas said he expects that the license could be approved this week with a condition that the city inspect the kennel in three months, rather than wait for the routine annual inspection.
“Sean Stanton has the right to apply [for a kennel license] and the right to operate a business,” said Bozicas, “and if there are no laws being broken, I have no misgivings at this point” if Egeland were to work at the kennel.
But, he added, “because of past issues, they’ll be put on a tighter leash.”
Egeland, however, said in a phone interview in late January that a new kennel license already had been issued and that she was unaware of any investigation into allegations against her.
“We are fully licensed and I am looking at a license from the city on my wall saying that we can board and train dogs,” said Egeland, 48, who sometimes goes by the name Amy Leach.
Stacy said in early January that the three were awaiting a license. Stanton did not comment for this story.
In mid-January, the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources ordered Egeland, Stanton, and Stacy to stop arranging dog adoptions, which they were doing on an animal adoption website, petfinder.com, according to the agency.
The state requires those conducting adoptions to register as a rescue or shelter, according to Peter Lorenz, an agency spokesman. The order remains in effect since the three have yet to comply with the requirements, Lorenz said on Friday.
‘This incident involving “Capone” is extremely disturbing.’
Egeland declined to comment in the January interview on whether they had been ordered to stop selling dogs online.
Fitchburg School Committee member Sally Cragin, who worked to recruit volunteers when the shelter opened, sent a letter last summer to the city and state officials alleging mismanagement, neglect, and endangerment at the former shelter.
In the July 12 letter, Cragin said she saw Egeland routinely allowed stray dogs and cats to roam the property and the kennel lacked proper signs of the animals’ temperaments and handling instructions. Cragin said volunteers often came to her about fights between dogs that resulted in injuries, adding that Egeland had failed to get veterinary care for one injured dog who died in its kennel.
Several stray cats were killed by shelter dogs, Cragin said, and she cited in the letter “numerous instances when volunteers were fired” for questioning Egeland’s practices.
“We look into every and all accusations from every complainant and take this very seriously,” said Amy Mahler, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, referring to Cragin’s letter.
Maureen Cormier, who volunteered at the shelter from 2011 to 2014, said in a phone interview that she saw Egeland fail to protect a female puppy against two adult male dogs. “She said that it was OK,” said Cormier. But Cormier said she took the puppy away from the dogs.
In January, at least four former shelter volunteers went to police to lodge complaints against Egeland.
Bozicas acknowledged the complaints in an e-mail and said police were conducting “an investigation to determine if any of these allegations are credible,” with the help of officers from the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. He declined to elaborate on the allegations.
Mayor Lisa Wong said the city closed the shelter on June 26 for “liability issues” and laid off Egeland following a state investigation that concluded Egeland and former part-time animal control officer Michael East conspired to euthanize a dog before a mandated seven-day grace period was up.
The dog, a pit bull mix named Capone, belonged to a local family who was searching for him after he escaped from their home, according to a report from the state Division of Animal Health.
“This incident involving ‘Capone’ is extremely disturbing,” the state report reads. “If the dog could not be safely held at Fitchburg Animal Shelter, then appropriate arrangements should have been made to house the dog elsewhere.”
In the January interview, Egeland said Capone was dangerous and she had been given approval to euthanize him ahead of the seven-day period.
“The dog was a vicious, dangerous weapon,” said Egeland.
Wong said volunteers had contacted her last year saying they witnessed cruelty and neglect at the shelter.
When she realized in late January that no action had been taken, Wong said she urged the volunteers to file complaints with police.
“It is my understanding that the police are still looking into the matter,” she said in an e-mail Saturday.
While the allegations are being investigated, no law prevents Egeland from working with animals, said Chief Richard LeBlond, director of animal protection for the Massachusetts Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Only a conviction of animal cruelty could impose such a ban, he said.
(Boston Globe - March 9, 2015)
Earlier:
