Massachusetts: Hanover kennel owner faces animal cruelty charges after dog bitten more than 400 times and dies

MASSACHUSETTS -- A kennel owner is facing animal cruelty charges after officials said a dog died after being attacked by another dog at the Hanover kennel.

The business has since been shut down.

Scituate resident Tracey Siciliano is mourning the loss of her 3-year-old Goldendoodle Ben.

She said she went on vacation last month and left Ben at Briarwood Kennels on Route 53. When she returned, she found her dog in terrible condition and near death.

A town investigation found Ben had been bitten more than 400 times and died after surgery.

A veterinarian estimated at least eight hours had passed from the time of the dog fight until his treatment, in which Ben suffered terribly and was slowly dying.

“I had no idea how horribly mauled he was until they had shaved his little body,” Siciliano told WBZ-TV. “He had been bitten from the top of his head to the bottom of his tail.”

Kennel owner David Ricardo has been summonsed to court to face felony animal cruelty charges.

Ricardo owns a golden retriever named Grizzley, which allegedly attacked Ben.

Siciliano said Grizzley had bitten Ben before and Ricardo promised the two would be kept separated.

Ricardo’s license has been temporarily suspended.

(7News - Aug 10, 2016)