Fay wants Great Danes back

OSSIPEE — Christina Fay, who is appealing her recent conviction on 10 counts of animal cruelty regarding 75 Great Dane dogs, was in Carroll County Superior Court on Wednesdayto argue that she needs her veterinarian to testify in her defense. She also is seeking to have a dozen dogs returned to her at the end of her trial.

Last December, Circuit Judge Charles Greenhalgh found Fay, then of Wolfeboro, guilty on the 10 counts in a 20-page order.

Greenhalgh found that her dogs were living in squalid conditions that were rife with feces and urine; and that the animals suffered from untreated ailments and sometimes were left without adequate water.

That bench trial ran six days between Oct. 16 and Nov. 14, 2017, but the case actually started last June, when local police and HSUS personnel seized 75 Great Danes from Fay’s home in Wolfeboro and nine more from a Bartlett location. The Conway Area Humane Society received another nine Great Danes prior to the seizure.

Greenhalgh gave Fay a one-year suspended jail sentence and ordered her to pay the over three-quarters of a million dollars that the prosecution had asked for as reimbursement for caring for her dogs for months.

The HSUS has sought $770,000; the town of Wolfeboro, about $16,300; and the Pope Memorial SPCA of Concord Merrimack County, about $1,500.

That sentence has been stayed because of Fay's appeal to the Superior Court, where the case is starting all over again.

Pending trial, Fay was allowed to keep just one dog, as long as it was spayed or neutered.

Jury selection for her new trial is scheduled for Feb. 26, but the trial may be delayed. Defense attorney Kent Barker of Winer and Bennett of Nashua told Judge Amy Ignatius, his team may need more time to review details that Ignatius apparently ordered the prosecution to hand over.

"We are racing to make this case be tried," Ignatius told Barker. "If there's any delay in the February date, it's because you asked for for additional information."

Among the first orders of business Wednesday was a Richards hearing on Bartlett veterinarian Kate Battenfelder and her vet tech, Stephanie Macomber. A Richards hearing determines whether witnesses' testimony would violate their Fifth Amendment right to avoid self incrimination.

"Dr. Battenfelder and Ms. Macomber have exculpatory (exonerating the defense) information about the health and well-being of Fay's European Great Danes from at least January 2016 until June 17 when the HSUS and the state seized my client's dogs," said defense attorney Jim Cowles of Walker and Varney in Wolfeboro.

But attorney William Albrecht of Albrecht and Weegar in Conway, who represents Battenfelder and Macomber, said he advised his clients that the only thing they could safely testify to is their names and job titles.

He said Battenfelder gave health certificates to dogs that were seen after the raid by Dr. Monique Kramer, who said they had warts, foot issues and eye issues. Albrecht also said Wolfeboro Police Chief Dean Rondeau told the press that Battenfelder was a person of interest in Fay's case.

Meanwhile, Assistant Carroll County Attorney Steven Briden said that his office believes immunity would be inappropriate.

Albrecht was allowed to explain to Ignatius privately at the bench why his clients shouldn't have to testify. Ignatius turned on a white noise generator so they could not be overheard.

The attorneys also argued over the scope of what Battenfelder and Macomber could testify to. For example, Cowles suggested that perhaps the judge could bar questions about the health certificates. He added that Battenfelder and Macomber might "feel a lot better" about being given a chance to clear their names by testifying.

That statement prompted a reaction from Albrecht.

"Nobody likes the publicity that goes along with these things, " said Albrecht. "I don't think it's relevant or appropriate for him to tell the court that this might be helpful to my client."

Cowles also suggested denying immunity since Rondeau's "incendiary comments" might have prevented the vet from testifying for Fay.

"That would allow the police to smear people's names in the media if they didn't want somebody to testify," he pointed out.

Briden disagreed with the notion that health certificate questions could be avoided. He said he needed to ask about them.

"Sometimes, those records did not match reality," he said.

Ignatius didn't immediately rule on whether Battenfelder or Macomber would testify or to what extent they would be able to testify.

The lawyers and the judge also talked about what to do with the dogs.

Greenhalgh had said Fay would be allowed to keep one dog, but in order to have an ownership interest in the others, she would have to put up a bond equal to $2,000 per dog. However, that had not yet happened, said Briden.

Fay's attorneys said they are working on getting a bond together but had to wait until Greenhalgh's order was issued to negotiate with insurance companies, and that caused some delay. Her attorneys also suggested a judicial lien could be placed on Fay's Wolfeboro property.

Fay would like to get the dogs out of the HSUS shelter. She hopes to have about a dozen returned to her at the end of the trial. Barker said these dogs are old and at the end of their lifespan.

Fay and her team hope to get all dogs out of the HSUS shelter as soon as possible. They suggested that perhaps Fay and the prosecution can agree to a third party that can help determine where most of the dogs should go.

"They are her pets; they are her family," said Barker.

But Briden said Fay rejected the third parties suggested by the HSUS because she perceived them to be too closely aligned with HSUS.

The prosecution suggested Fay could just relinquish ownership.

Ignatius said Fay's request for rehoming the dogs could not be addressed until a bond is posted. She was open to having both sides come to an agreement about how the dogs should be dealt with.

"If there is a way to get them into real homes, that would obviously be a good thing for the dogs," said Ignatius. But she said she would not return the dogs to Fay or allow her to independently place them.

"I see no basis to order the return of the dogs to Ms. Fay," Judge Ignatius said.

Christina Fay talks to her attorney Kent Barker in Carroll County Superior Court Wednesday. (Daymond Steer/Conway Daily Sun)