HARMONY – Mary Daggett’s mental limitations caused her to abandon five German shepherd dogs in Harmony in January, according to court officials.

Daggett, 37, had purchased dog food for the animals but kept it where the dogs could not reach it. She had been living for days on a single jar of pickles.

“She is not able to care for herself, let alone animals under her direction,” said Somerset County District Attorney Evert Fowle following a court hearing Wednesday. “It is clear she has fairly significant limitations. She is not an evil person.”

Daggett pleaded guilty Wednesday in Skowhegan District Court of a single count of civil cruelty to animals. She was sentenced by Judge Douglas Clapp to pay a $250 fine, of which all but $100 was suspended, and ordered never to possess another animal.

Neighbors had reported their concerns about the animals to officials last summer and again in January. Last summer, Daggett had been living in a tent on the Harmony property and the dogs all had doghouses.

On Jan. 22, Maine state Trooper James Medeiros, armed with a search warrant and accompanied by two other troopers, removed four dogs – one was pregnant – and the frozen corpse of another pregnant female dog. The dogs were all between 1 and 7 years old. The trooper went to the location after a neighbor told him the dog that died walked out of its kennel the day before during subzero temperatures, lay down and did not get up.

Medeiros said there was no water in the building housing the dogs and the only dog food was frozen and locked away. The four living dogs have all recovered and have been adopted.

Fowle explained that after reviewing the circumstances surrounding the case, it was decided to charge Daggett with cruelty to animals under the civil statute rather than the criminal statute.

“Mary Daggett is a sad, pathetic soul,” said Fowle. “There is no question in my mind that we did the right thing.”

Fowle said that Trooper Mederios, who is a K-9 officer, is “most conscientious when it comes to animal cases. He did an excellent job on this case and suggested to us that it be presented as a civil violation.”

Fowle explained that the state would have had to prove willful and intentional harm by Daggett to proceed under the criminal statute.