WHITMAN, MASS. (WHDH) - The owners of a Whitman kennel face animal cruelty charges after a dog died at their facility. One of the kennel’s owners was called to court Tuesday and a local family says they won’t be satisfied until the business is shut down.
More than eight months after he lost his beloved German shepherd, Rob Foley still looks back fondly at photos of nine-year-old Maximus.
“Family dog, used to sleep with the kids every night,” Foley said of Maximus.
Foley, still haunted by the memory of Maximus’ death, says he dropped him off at Annie’s Clean Critters for a weekend away with the kids in July of 2016. But when he came back at 10 a.m. the following Monday, nobody was there.
“They were nowhere to be found,” Foley said of the owners. “I tried their phone, no response to voicemail, nothing.”
Foley said nobody came back until 5:30 p.m. that night. A terrible discovery was made inside.
“I basically showed up to him being dead,” Foley said.
Maximus was found dead from bloat. Now months later, the kennel owners are charged with animal cruelty. One of them, Anne Marie Brown, faced a judge.
Court documents show Maximus was left in his cage for spurts of more than 23-26 hours that weekend. Police officers say the facility was unsanitary and inhumane for animals. Brown’s lawyer said it wasn’t her fault.
“This was a situation where a dog tragically died. There was some, maybe neglectful behavior on behalf of one of her managers, her husband. But nothing that would suggest anger toward animals in general,” Brown’s lawyer said.
Brown was once an animal control officer for East Bridgewater and Whitman, but both towns told 7News that she’s no longer an employee.
Brown’s lawyer said her kenneling license has been taken away, but the Foley family says that’s not enough.
“We don’t want them around animals. We don’t want their shop open. We just want them to go away,” Foley said.
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