Graphic by Leah Han ’27/The Choate News
By Maia Shah ’27, Reporter
On August 30, Animal Control rescued 37 dogs that had been hoarded in a barn in Wallingford. Animal Control learned about this situation after receiving several noise complaints about barking dogs.
After the noise complaints were submitted in repeated anonymous letters, the Wallingford Police Department entered the residence and seized control of the dogs. While they showed no apparent signs of abuse, the dogs appeared neglected and cramped in close quarters. They had no access to regular grooming, clean drinking water, and the standard of care that many pet owners might typically provide.
The dogs’ owners, a 69-year-old woman and her son, allowed Animal Control to access the space and obliged with all search procedures without hesitation. While the police and Animal Control have been aware of the situation for approximately seven months, officers gave the owners a chance to improve the dogs’ living conditions without outside intervention. However, no sufficient improvements were made, prompting the police to take action instead.
The police department classifies this situation as a case of hoarding rather than abuse. The National Library of Medicine defines an animal hoarder as a person who “accumulated a large number of animals and who: 1) fails to provide minimal standards of nutrition, sanitation, and veterinary care; 2) fails to act on the deteriorating condition of the animals (including disease, starvation or death) and the environment (severe overcrowding, extremely unsanitary conditions).”
After the intervention, the owner and her son gave up possession of the dogs, which were subsequently dispersed to various locations across New Haven County, including Meriden, North Haven, East Haven, New London, and Poodle Rescue CT, a non-profit organization located in Naugatuck. Poodle Rescue was helpful for the relocation efforts by providing the dogs with temporary shelter and grooming services and taking in four of the dogs.
For the dogs, the grooming process was crucial to understanding the severity of their condition. It was not an easy task to treat the dogs’ immense matting and overgrown hair, but it did help indicate the dogs’ need for veterinary attention. Mr. Daryl Masone, a representative of Poodle Rescue, said in a statement for NBC Connecticut that “the dogs’ biggest needs appear to be around socialization.” His colleague, Ms. Allyson Eliason, a groomer with Beauty in the Beast grooming services, added, “they were pretty matted. One of them, the tail was so matted I had to slide my scissor down the tail to cut the mat open to shave it off.”
Due to the grooming, veterinary care, and attention they still require, and the ongoing nature of the investigation, the dogs will remain in temporary shelters until they become candidates for adoption. As the police receive comprehensive evaluations and obtain a search warrant to further investigate the dogs’ poor living conditions and the owners’ motivations, more information will become available to the public. As of now, no arrests have been made, and no charges have been pressed.
