Christina Fay, 60, of 149 Warren Sands Road, Wolfeboro, was arrested on two misdemeanor counts of neglect, after the raid on her property on Friday found the animals living in 'horrifying' conditions.
"I've never seen conditions this bad in more than 21 years of law enforcement," Wolfeboro Police Chief Dean Rondeau said.
According to realtor.com, the 53-acre property was last sold for $1,525,000 in 2015 and currently has an estimated value of $1,782,012.
Of course, that estimate was before rescue teams got inside and saw that the home is covered in feces across the floors, walls and furniture, while the food preparation area was littered with raw, rotting chicken.
Others were kept in cages, or in caged-off areas.
'It was horrifying in and of itself, but I've never seen conditions like this in a house of that magnitude,' Lindsay Hamrick, N.H. State Director for the Humane Society of the United States, told Union Leader.
Fay was reportedly selling the puppies for $2,500 each under the kennel name De La Sang Monde.
Police said they had previously dealt with Fay about barking dog complaints and began this investigation May 8.
'At some point, I got choked up. It is terrible to see animals treated like this,' said Tona McCarthy, a cruelty investigator with Pope Memorial SPCA in Concord, who received a tip off and photos of the Wolfeboro property.
'The conditions were deplorable. I'm trying hard to find words to describe it. It was certainly a situation that no animal should be kept in,' said Wolfeboro Police Officer Michael Straugh, who is the department's K-9 handler.
The dogs, which ranged in age form puppies just a few weeks old to adult dogs, have all been seized and are receiving veterinary treatment. Many were found with infections or eye irritation from the conditions.
Some of the adult dogs were more than 5ft tall and weighed over 200 pounds.
The dogs will not be available for adoption until the case against Kay is heard as they are evidence in the criminal case.
(From the Sheriff's Office) Aside from the normal bail conditions most ordinarily enacted, two additional bail conditions were imposed on her:
➤ the first prohibited her from returning to the property for the pendency of the Search Warrant and the removal of the dogs at her business
➤ the second bars her from receiving, owning, possessing, housing or in any way being responsible for any animals through the pendency of the litigation.
Pending the results of laboratory testing of items seized, and other evidence collected and analyzed from the searches, additional charges are likely to be filed against Ms. Fay and others as we dig deeper into this case and deem appropriate.
Fay is scheduled to be arraigned in the Ossipee Circuit Court on August 3.
"At DE LA SANG MONDE GREAT DANES, our dogs are well loved and cared for. Our puppies are born and raised in the house. We take them out in small groups daily, to both, exercise and socialize them.
"All of our dogs were imported from some of the great kennels around the world. We are deeply grateful to each kennel and breeder for entrusting us with their remarkable puppies. It is an honor and a joy to live with such beauty.
"Our owner, Tina Patterson Fay, has gathered what she believes are some of the best breeding lines available. Our goal is to produce healthy, beautiful, and well-rounded puppies from these magnificent imported Dams and Sires."
Have any of these vets been inside Fay's home? Did they see the urine burns on the dogs' bellies, hindquarters and paw pads? Did they notice that the dogs stunk of feces and urine? Did they notice the cherry eyes on the dogs? Did they know she had more than 80 extra-large dogs locked inside this house of horrors?
The police need to interview all four of them and if any of them knew what was going on, they need to be disciplined by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).
WHO IS TINA FAY?
Christina Fay goes by her nickname Tina Fay. However, Christina is her middle name. Marie is her first name, making her Maria Christina Fay. However, she is also known by her maiden name Maria Christina Patterson and uses variations of these names:
Tina Patterson Fay, Tina Patterson, Christina Fay, Christina Patterson, Marie Patterson Fay, Marie Fay, Maria Patterson, Maria Christina Fay, Maria Christina Patterson
I found online that she is listed as a "board member at the Clear View School". Relatives listed are: Patrick Fay, Niall Fay, Neddie Fay, and Liam Fay.
This post on Facebook gives even more insight to who she is. It also mentions employees and relatives who were involved in her breeding business:
Jen Stinson-Merrill has already yanked down her Facebook page. She, her husband Aaron Merrill, Hope Carle, Kady Hoffman, and Julia Smith need to be interviewed by the police to see if any of them were in any way also responsible for the horrific conditions that these dogs were forced to live in - and churn out $2,500 puppies.
Photos from Tina Fay's business Facebook page
This dog is used for stud. His fee? $1,500.
He is co-owned by "Zeia from Vom Hause Faith"
As these are AKC registered dogs, TINA FAY is required
to be inspected by the AKC. When is the last time they
bothered to go to her property? Does the AKC think it's
acceptable that one person has more than 80 supersized dogs?!
Update to case:
You have 24 hours to remove all attempts at defaming & slandering Vom Hause Faith. We purchased Norman from Ms. Fay we do not Co-own him with Ms. Fay and we are in no way associated with the litigation against Ms. Fay.
ReplyDeleteZeia, they've busted our operation. It's been a blast pumping out all of these giant Danes with you! But I guess now it's time to give ourselves up.
Delete-Tina
You have nothing better to do with your time than impersonate someone and commit illegal acts of defamation since you can hide behind phony screen names and can't get caught?
DeleteNorman Rockwell de la Sang Monde is publicly listed as being available for stud purposes. Norman's AKC paperwork shows Tina Fay as being the owner. Vom Geliebte Bogart has him listed as available for stud with a fee of $1,500. They also have it listed that Norman is "Co-Owned by Zeia from Vom Hause Faith". These are all facts. Does that mean the breeders/operators at Vom Hause Faith or at Vom Geliebte Bogart knew what was going on inside Tina's house? Of course not. What it shows is that Tina was not only making thousands on the puppies but also the stud fees. Due to the multi-state, possibly multi-country sales, Tina could be facing not just state criminal charges, but federal charges as well.
DeleteBut thank you for your input and free legal advice. It appears, though, that your 24 hour deadline has passed.
Zeia, what's done is done. They have proof that we work together, co-owning and studing sweet Normy. I don't think us denying this is going to help our case. Meet me at "the spot" and we can go over what we're going to say.
DeleteVom Hause Faith....perhaps if you are innocent as you claim and shouldn't be on this website, you should stop posting comments on it and lawyer up. They would advise you to not speak to anyone. At this point, I would say that is good advice.
DeleteVery very sad. Shame on you Vom Hause Faith for purchasing from this woman in the first place with these conditions. You are in no better standing. I hope Fay gets the maximum, this is horrific.
ReplyDeleteVom Hause Faith has never been to New Hampshire or Maine and can in no way be held accountable or responsible for the litigation against Ms Fay or any of the other Kennels we have purchased our dogs from for that matter. Each kennel is its own entity and independent of other kennels. We have been breeding for 10 years and stand on our own merit with impeccable health. We are AKC inspected as well as inspected by Animal Control.
DeleteVom Hause Faith,
DeleteSeeing as your name is tied to this,like it or not, truth or not..you may wish to refrain from speaking out, except through an attorney. .at least until formal charges are brought against Tina, and she is arraigned.
It just looks really bad, to have you posting and claiming innocent. .when your name is tied all over the case, in the media.
Yes, you are 100% correct, that just because as a breeder, you sold or bought a dog from another kennel,doesn't mean you are responsible for what that kennel says or does. The problem lies in that this is a new case, new charges, all the facts are not yet known, yet here you are loudly objecting\claiming innocence. .
My best advice, stay quiet, stay calm & wait for things to settle down, more "Facts" to come out.. let people see that you \ your kennel isn't involved, outside of purchase of a dog.
I am not tied to this case in any way. I will not keep quiet. There is absolutely no reason why I should be on this website. Where are all the other breeders who purchased a dog from Ms. Fay? Why are these not included here. What this blog is doing is completely illegal. publishing false information is a crime.
DeletePeople who have nothing to hide hide, hide nothing. Speak out all you want. The truth will set you free.
DeleteWhile I appreciate Mr. Cat's opinion, I think it would be prudent to be discrete about some of the "specifics" of our operation, Zeia.
DeleteFrom the AKC website:
ReplyDeleteBreeders are expected to maintain records for at least five years. AKC randomly selects breeders for inspection yearly. ... While the AKC does not have penal or regulatory authority, breeders who have major kennel deficiencies may lose AKC privileges (ability to register dogs or compete in events).
The AKC is largely a record keeping body - purchasing an "AKC registered dog" guarantees only that the dog is a purebred dog. It does NOT guarantee a well bred dog. This is why you should know something about the animals you are purchasing - you should visit the kennel, interview the breeder, know what you're buying. There are so many great websites that discuss how to pick a quality breeder - obviously the people buying from this lady weren't doing much homework.
I agree. AKC registration means nothing except papers go along with the dog for bloodline. We had a cruelty case locally - a breeder had 100 dogs locked in a building with plastic nailed over the windows which were never opened, towels were shoved under the doors to keep the smell in, the stored food was full of mouse droppings and bugs, kennels full of feces, hair and urine, the dogs never left this building. The ammonia levels were horrible and all the dogs were seized. In court he produced a paper from the AKC which had "inspected" his building a month earlier and gave him a passing score. He ended up surrendering the dogs, but they gave him some sort of plea deal that meant he didn't plead guilty so he is back in business and the AKC never even suspended him.
DeleteI hope they use her and anyone else who knew what was going on as a huge example of the penalties of such cruelness! I feel all should be locked in those same rooms with the same food/water and lack thereof. These low lives who year previous animals so horribly need to be punished to the maximum!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Vom Hause Faith,
ReplyDeleteI think it's terrible that these people are trying to bring down others with Tina Fay. She is the only one responsible for this. How would the vets know the conditions at her home? I think it would be pretty easy to clean up a dog before bringing it to the vet.And to the person impersonating Tina Fay, you should probably learn how to spell your name correctly ;)
I understand that what Fay did is so wrong, but bringing others down with her is not the answer. Helping these dogs and contacting lawmakers to prevent this from happening is the answer.
You never look good making someone else look bad.
Now Zeia, this reads like your hubby's written this! We probably ought to refrain from sharing too much like the submitter above suggested. And regarding my spelling, you know "Fey" is just one amongst my many pseudonyms, silly! We look forward to seeing you two again when the smoke clears!
DeleteSo DISGUSTING. This woman needs to rot in prison for the rest of her horrible life. This is animal abuse, animal cruelty, animal neglect, and animal torture. And to all you idiots that still buy dogs on the internet or from a backyard breeder, you are responsible for these animals continuing to suffer. THERE IS NOT A RESPONSIBLE BREEDER!!! These animals are all starved, living in their own feces & urine & kept in a very small cages. When you stop buying from these people, they will not exist!!!
ReplyDeleteDear Mr. or Ms. "Unknown", let me just say that no one treats their dogs the way I treat my product! Show me one other breeder that buys an entire mansion for their herd!!!!
DeleteI got a Great Dane from her, and her poor eyes are butchered so badly, and when I asked her kennel manager Jess what happened to her a few months in between I got two different stories as she would not tell me what vet did it so that I could contact them myself and see why the hell they butchered her eyes if that's what even happened! So disappointed.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean by "butchered?"
DeleteLike they are permanently red, there not normal like an eye would be, there all sunken in and some spots are deep in the eye and part of her inner eye is covered my tissue that's black.
DeleteBree, what is possessing you to spread these falsehoods?!? You know we discussed, AT LENGTH, that your sweet pup demonstrated a rare spontaneous (not hereditary!) mutation, resulting in inoperable trigonocephaly! Of course this is why I GAVE her to you without charge with the purchase of Theodore. I don't understand why you would do this to me. We had such a wonderful working relationship. Is someone paying you to say these lies?! Is it Hope? Kady?
DeleteWhen I started reading this article, I thought this might be about a bad case of animal hoarding, a psychiatric condition. However, as I proceeded to read further and look at pictures, I changed my mind.
ReplyDeleteI believe this story is that of setup and betrayal. It must've been the lady's own kennel help that purposefully created this mess and called animal control on her.
Why do I think that?
1. We see a number of 84 being cited in the article. The ages are said to be from neonatal and up. In this breed, known to have large litters, it is enough to have 20 adults, five of which are currently nursing puppies, to arrive at this seemingly impossible number. 20 adult Danes is a very reasonable number for a property of such magnitude.
2. Out of 84 dogs removed, the lady was charged with grand total of TWO neglect cases. Not abuse cases, not cruelty cases, but neglect. One of the two is obviously the dog with the cherry eye whose picture is prominently displayed. Do we know if this dog was not booked in for surgery for next week? Do we know if this dog was not being treated conservatively, on the advice of the vet. No we don't. How do we know if the second neglect charge wasn't for a similarly benign condition, such as dirty teeth or a skin problem (both of which might've been under treatment). I cannot possibly know the details, but I also know that if the animal control found TWO problems in 84 animals, this is a far cry from a puppy mill situation.
3. Looking at the pictures carefully, I do NOT see a chronic problem with cleanliness. What I see is fresh deposits of urine and stools which dogs have obviously walked through. Such deposits might have accumulated after only a day or two of not letting the dogs out to eliminate. I see clean curtains and pristine white walls from the knee height up. If the dog had been habitually kept in such conditions, the curtains would have been beyond filthy and in all probability would've been torn down by dogs. Someone is trying to pass this situation for a chronic problem which it clearly isn't.
4. All the dogs in the pictures are in good physical condition, excellent weight for the breed, with healthy skin and coat. Dogs kept in unsanitary and cramped quarters do not look like that.
5. The article mentions long standing concerns of the neighbors over dog barking. I went ahead and googled the address of the property. It is situated on 53 wooded acres, with no immediate neighbors on any side of the property. Seeing this and knowing that Danes are by nature a rather quiet breed, I take this notion with a huge grain of salt.
6. There is information about kennel help trying to sell the dogs on Craigslist immediately prior to the raid. This is a key piece of information. No breeder, no puppy miller, no breed lover, in short NO sane person would ever try to sell imported dogs whose value is in high thousands for $50 on Craigslist.
Having noted all these discrepancies, I believe the situation is most likely that of a responsible breed fancier who was unlucky enough to be set up by her employees while she was away on a trip. The dogs have obviously been allowed loose in the house just a couple of days prior to animal control arriving. The timing of events leads me to believe this was done ON PURPOSE.
To be clear, I have never heard this lady's name prior to today, and I have absolutely no connection to this story in any way other than reading this article.
Dear all, please think this through before jumping to conclusions about this lady's character. This situation does not appear to be what it is presented to be.
Dear lady breeder, if you are reading this, I hope you can find the way to shed light on this horrible situation, and please accept my sincere condolences on being dragged into such a mess.
Agencies typically issue a charge on an obvious animal that will support the cruelty charges. As the animals are examined and they confer with the district attorney's office, more charges are typically filed.
DeleteI appreciate your comments as it seems you put some thought into specific details. Of course, the emotional reaction is one of horror, but that's why, I think, the prosecutor's office is going to further delve into the employees and the owner and find out who was responsible for what before issuing charges - which the latest article said could be around 200 charges.
There is a FB post (shown above) that mentions Tina possibly being hospitalized. It could very well be that she was in the hospital for a couple months and the people she left in charge are the ones responsible for this mess.
If this is the case, I would think that the prosecutors would charge these people. She may still be held accountable, though, as the animals were ultimately her responsibility.
Sweet Ms. Alexandra, while I will refrain from commenting on specifics for legal reasons, let me just say your amazing insight is a wonderful breath of fresh air!
DeletePledgeRoast, I agree with you. Ultimately the breeder is responsible, however should it turn out she had either been incapacitated, or unaware, or both, I sure hope the media will put just as much effort into clearing her name as they do now dragging it through the mud.
DeleteInnocent until proven guilty.
The HSUS machine is now at work, and for those familiar with how it operates it is unfortunately clear that additional charges will undoubtedly be forthcoming.
A bitch with mastitis? Charge! Nevermind she had been separated from her puppies since the raid and the unused milk caked up her mammaries. Cherry eye? Charge! Nevermind the dog was booked to have it taken care of next week. Cancerous tumor? Charge! Nevermind the dog is 11 years old and would be too risky to operate on. Etc, etc, etc.
In the meantime the story will be paraded through every possible channel in an attempt to raise money from the everyday dog lovers, money that the dogs themselves will never see. The pups will be quietly sold off (sorry, adopted out at a hefty "adoption fee"), adults will be euthanized in the back room somewhere, and unless the breeder decides to go public with the real story, we will never know what happened, who was really responsible, and most of all what the dogs' fate was.
A Great Dane puppy mill? Give me a break! No one makes money off of this breed, it's downright impossible. A giant breed that eats like a herd of hungry elephants, that has a number of breed specific and expensive health concerns, and this lady has imported all her stock from Europe. That's a minimum of 2000€ plus a minimum of 1500€ shipping PER DOG. She's been pouring money into this breeding program and I seriously doubt she's ever recuperated even half of her expenses. This sounds a lot more like an expensive hobby than a business. If she ever wanted to make profit, she would've gone into Shih Tzus or Labradors. She would've bought stock locally at $300 each. She would've fed them Ol' Roy instead of the raw diet (wasn't it chicken they found in her dog kitchen?). She would not have hired numerous help.
I just can't get this story out of my head. Something smells terribly fishy here and I'm afraid a giant injustice is being done. Please, folks, stop and think before joining the witch hunt.
My neighbor went to the hospital for 5 dwys and lect his wife with Alzheimer's to care for 3 dogs in a 1,500 foot house. His house looked far worse than this one does. If we are talking about over 80 dogs, I would expect true neglect to be look much worse than these pictures show. I dont know anyone involved and Im not a huge dog lover, but I did house sit for a couple with one of these dogs and other animals. I dont like puppy farms either, but I am not seeing true neglect in these pictures. All I see is that somebody didn't let the dogs out to poop for a couple of days tops and they need to clean up the mess. All but two of the dogs looked beautiful. That being said...adopt a stray!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Alexandra. Danes have large litters, up to 15 is not unusual. I don't think anyone needs that many dogs, but it sounds like more than a few large litters were used to boost the count - would love to know how many adults over the age of 2. I've been an animal control officer and worked closely with various breed rescues. HSUS is not in this area, SOMEONE would have had to contact them, and leave dogs alone to show the evidence of neglect. These dogs are not neglected, they're not thin. They're not abused, they aren't afraid of people. Yes cherry eye should have been repaired as a pup. Curious though, why no local vets were mentioned or used by you Tina. Sounds like your caregivers are out to get you for some reason. Should THEY not be held responsible? Why were they posting CL ads? WHO called HSUS? WHO has an axe to grind? I've managed large show kennels over the decades; there were times when owners were away for extended periods.
ReplyDeleteA lot of valid points here, C Mego. Someone must have had a giant axe to grind. I just finished reading the second article (http://fourleggedfriendsandenemies.blogspot.com/2017/06/new-hampshire-tina-fay-facing-up-to-200.html), and it would seem the local officer making statements is on a personal vendetta. Wonder if the breeder took his favorite spot at a grocery store once. Many of his comments were way way off base. The saddest part is that now that HSUS is involved, the majority of these dogs are most likely going to be euthanized. That's how HSUS operates.
ReplyDelete