Great Dane’s death at issue

Fay defense team question vets on dog’s death

OSSIPEE — The defense team for Christina Fay, the woman accused of mistreating numerous Great Danes, has been asking veterinarians on the stand about a dog who died after it was seized and taken into the custody of the Humane Society of the United States.

The case began when police and HSUS seized 84 dogs from locations in Wolfeboro and Bartlett in June. The Conway Area Humane Society received another nine prior to the seizure. Fay, 59, of Wolfeboro faces a dozen charges alleging she kept dogs in squalid conditions and denied them adequate food, water and care.

Her animal cruelty trial started last week in Ossipee circuit court.

Last month, Fay’s legal team — Jim Cowles of Walker and Varney in Wolfeboro and Kent Barker of Winer and Bennett in Nashua — issued a press release saying the prosecution had notified them that a dog called Lira had died. At the time, the cause of death was unknown and a necropsy (animal autopsy) was ordered.

Cowles and Barker said they have since learned the cause of death — acute mesenteric volvulus — and questioned veterinarians on the stand about it earlier this week.

Barker asked defense witness Dr. Samantha Moffitt, a veterinarian practicing with Central Animal Referral & Emergency Hospital in Fredericksburg, Va. She said acute mesenteric volvulus is twisting of the netting of the small intestines.

“Your small intestines have a lot of vessels that feed to the intestines for nutrition and health,” said Moffitt. “If you twist the root, you are cutting off blood supply. ... There’s no blood supply or nutrition going to the intestines, and the intestines are eventually going to necrotize and die off. It’s going to be like a domino effect.”

Other veterinarians — Monique Kramer, of the Art of Alternative Animal Healing in Fryeburg, Maine, Dr. Susan Tullar of Bradford Veterinary Clinic and JJerilee Zezula of Madbury, a forensic veterinarian and member of the Governor’s Commission on the Humane Treatment of Animals — had similar but less detailed explanations of what mesenteric volvulus is.  

Much of Barker’s line of questioning to Tullar seemed to be denied by Judge Charles Greenhalgh, who sustained objections from prosecutor Tim Morgan.

Moffit said the dog would be in a lot of pain and eventually go into shock and die. She said the dog would make its discomfort clear by being restless, moving around, and trying to vomit or vomiting.

“It’s not a dog that’s bright, alert and responsive,” said Moffitt.

Moffitt testified that the report showed the dog had partially digested food in its stomach, and ingestion of a lot of food in one meal is associated with that condition.

Moffit confirmed that the situation could have been avoided with portion control.

Later, on Barker used the mesenteric volvulus as a reason to ask the judge to dismiss a charge that said the dogs lacked access to water.

In Barker’s recounting of the testimony of Zezula, he said she testified that dogs should have access to water at all times.

“I would submit that is not only not the standard but it’s silly and ridiculous,” said Barker, adding no pet owners would live up to that.

“In fact, as we saw from the necropsy of Lira, the dog, which died from over ingestion of food and water, that in fact it may be negligent to leave the water unmonitored.”

He said the death of Lira was an example of the special needs of European Great Danes. He added that no hydration tests were ever taken.

“That charge must fail,” said Barker.

Prosecuting attorney Simon Brown reacted to Barker’s motion to dismiss, including the one about water. He recalled more detail of what Zezula had said.

“Multiple witnesses testified they toured the property and saw no evidence of water,” said Brown. “Dr. Zezula that it’s a standard of care to have water available all the time or at least three times per day. The evidence shows that was not done to these dogs. There was testimony and evidence that at least one group of dogs, when (Fay employee-turned witness) Annie Newell was on the property, had not been let out in more than 24 hours and was deprived of water for more than 24 hours while housed in the basement.”

“The Great Dane who passed away on Sept. 20, named Bonnie by her caregivers, left our veterinarians, staff and volunteers heartbroken,” said a U.S. Humane Society representative, “but we are also grateful she was under loving care and passed in a clean and enriched living environment. Two days before she died, Bonnie was seen by two veterinarians and showed no outward signs of illness. On the morning of her death, staff checked on Bonnie twice, and again she showed no signs of illness.”

The judge is currently deciding on a number of defense motions. No date for reconvening the trial has been set.