Raid of Great Dane home described

OSSIPEE — Christina Fay’s No. 1 assistant took the stand Tuesday in Fay’s Carroll County Superior Court jury trial.

Last December, a circuit judge found Fay, then of Wolfeboro, guilty of animal cruelty in a written order that spoke of dogs living in squalid conditions. Some suffered from untreated ailments and some were left without adequate water, Circuit Judge Charles Greenhalgh said.

Greenhalgh gave Fay a one-year suspended jail sentence and ordered her to pay over three-quarters of a million dollars. The Humane Society of the United States sought $770,000; the town of Wolfeboro, about $16,300; and the Pope Memorial SPCA of Concord Merrimack County, about $1,500.

But Fay appealed the sentence to the Superior Court. She now faces 18 complaints of animal cruelty. Judge Amy Ignatius is presiding over the jury trial.

Former Fay employee Julia Lee took the stand Tuesday. She worked with Fay from November 2016 to June 2017, when the property was raided by Wolfeboro police and HSUS staffers.

Under questioning from defense attorney Kent Barker of Winer and Bennett LLP of Nashua, Lee said they were just concluded their planning meeting the morning of June 16. She said she was preparing to clean the house while Fay was grinding 80 pounds of chicken for the puppies.

“It is burnt in my brain for the rest of my life,” Lee said of the raid.

Lee said just before the raid, she went out to get a bag of dog food that was stored in a hut.

“As I walked out the door, I was told to freeze as I had an officer that was pointing an assault rifle at me,” said Lee.

According to Lee, the officer instructed her to find Fay and bring her to her  front door, and she did. Fay was arrested, placed in two sets of handcuffs and brought to a police car. Lee said she was placed in cuffs and led to another car.

Lee said police arrested Fay on counts of animal abuse. Lee was threatened with arrest if she didn’t cooperate.

When she started working for Fay, she said about a half-dozen people worked there, but three quit in March and another went on maternity leave. She said Fay was trying to find new staff but couldn’t find reliable help.

The raid, said Lee, happened on a Friday, and two staff members were supposed to start or restart working. That would have brought the staffing level from two to four people.

Lee testified the dogs were given food, water and medical care.

She also said Fay was increasing her efforts to rehome the dogs when they went through the staffing shortage. At some point, the number of dogs in the house was increasing.

Lee said conditions were getting worse when it was only her and Fay taking care of the dogs. She said Fay was looking to move to a place where they would have more space.

Lee said it had rained prior to the raid and the dogs tracked in mud, which is why the home was so dirty on the day of the raid.

“I’d say 90 percent of it was mud,” said Lee.

Asked by Barker how Fay treated her employees and dogs, Lee said “very well.” She said Fay liked to “cuddle” with some of the dogs at night.

Then Lindsay Hamrick of the Humane Society of the United States took the stand.

Hamrick said the Fay case has cost the Humane Society $1.3 million. The organization has raised $189,000 in cash and another $135,000 in donations of supplies and other goods, she said.

Prosecutor Simon Brown asked if the Humane Society is making money off the case.

“No, we are certainly not,” Hamrick replied.