Massachusetts: Andrew Marois, 35, arraigned on animal cruelty charges

MASSACHUSETTS -- A Lunenburg man was arraigned Monday on a charge of animal cruelty after allegedly having two dogs chained outside with no food or water within reach, according to court documents.

Officers responded to the residence of Andrew K. Marois, 35, of 61 Youngs Road, Apt. 5, on June 21 to assist the town's animal-control officer, Kathy Comeau, with a complaint she received from Marois' neighbors that two pit bulls were tied up outside and not receiving the proper care or nutrition, according to a police report.

A woman showed the officers where the dogs were. One dog was allegedly chained to the back of a dump truck and was lying underneath the truck in the dirt, according to a police report. The report states, "the dog was clearly malnourished and suffering from mange."

The other dog was allegedly located behind a shed surrounded by trash and chained to a tree with no water or food within reach. A police report stated, "the dog's ribs were visible and it appeared to be malnourished and sick."

According to court documents, several neighbors called and checked on the dogs due to yelping and barking.

Officer Joshua Mathieu asked the woman who showed officers the dogs who the owner was. She said her boyfriend's friend dropped them off to her boyfriend, Marois, six days before officers arrived to the scene. She could not provide any paperwork or an exact location as to where the dogs came from, according to a police report.

The dogs did not have any tags on their collars.

After surveying the scene and with no apparent owner, officers determined that with "the conditions the dogs were living in and the health of the dogs, it was evident the dogs were being neglected and needed to be removed from those conditions."

Comeau took possession of the animals and got the dogs treatment before taking them to Fallon Animal Clinic in Lunenburg to receive more treatment from a veterinarian, according to a police report.

Marois is charged with cruelty to animals.

Comeau said the two dogs are "doing much better" and she is taking care of them at her home, which is also the town shelter.

After being arraigned in Fitchburg District Court, Marois was released on a written promise to appear at his next court date. A condition of his release was "not to possess any pets of the four-legged variety," according to court documents.

(Sentinel and Enterprise - Aug 2, 2016)