November 27, 2024
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Dog cruelty case grows 2nd man hit with charges

DOVER-FOXCROFT – A second person has been charged with cruelty to animals in connection with the operation of a Dover-Foxcroft kennel where state and local authorities last month seized 92 English springer spaniels, some of which were malnourished.

Burton Hagelin Sr., 73, co-owner of the dogs at Foxcroft Kennels on Gray Hill Road, faces the same charge that was filed last week against his son, Mark Hagelin, 45. The charges stem from the alleged lack of care state and local authorities said the men gave the dogs. Both are expected to make their initial court appearances at 1 p.m. Monday, May 9, in 13th District Court in Dover-Foxcroft.

Also on Monday, the state plans to ask the court for possession of the dogs taken from the Hagelins.

Mark Hagelin’s attorney, Joseph Baldacci of Bangor, has filed a motion to suppress evidence, saying the search conducted of Hagelin’s property violated his rights under the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. In addition, Baldacci stated there was no basis for and issuance of a search warrant because it did not meet constitutional standards.

Mark Hagelin, who said “a man is king, sovereign on his own land and therefore can do no wrong in his own kingdom,” has filed a motion to quash, saying that police and state officials failed to notify other parties who own or have an interest in the dogs, specifically Burton Hagelin Sr., Carol Hagelin and Burton Hagelin Jr. He noted that dogs are not citizens, and therefore they have no rights.

“This is an attempt to illegally convert property by theft, extortion or other means,” he wrote.

A court affidavit filed by Jennifer Howlett, state humane agent, who said a relative of Hagelin’s had notified police about the living conditions, painted a disturbing picture of the living quarters in the kennels. She visited the Hagelin home on April 13 with Dover-Foxcroft police Chief Dennis Dyer.

“We approached the door to the house. At the foot of the stairs were three to four garbage bags that had been ripped open, thick soupy feces filled the bags and spilled over to the front of the stairs. There was an overwhelming smell of dog feces,” Howlett wrote in her affidavit.

Howlett said that when Dyer walked up the stairs and knocked on the door, “the house began to ring out with barking, and the dogs began jumping up on the windows and doors. The front windows were smeared with a brown, thick film of what appeared to be feces or mud from the dogs,” she wrote. She also said she observed that the floor of the doorway was covered in a “scummy film of feces and mud.”

According to Howlett, there were 12 spaniels in a large fenced-in area, several of which appeared to be underweight and two pregnant. She noted that both male and females were allowed to roam together.

“The air was foul and reeked of dog feces and urine; a mixture of feces, urine and mud covered the floor and walls,” she said. Howlett said she observed “filthy empty buckets tipped on their sides and approximately three to four cups of kibbles scattered on the floor embedded into the fecal mixture.” She said there were no bags of dog food in the kennel, no water provided and no cleaning material visible.

Howlett said that during her visit, Mark Hagelin told her that “Mrs. Baldacci, the governor’s wife had been to the property to buy a dog and she didn’t have a problem.”

Before she could conduct a full inspection, including the dogs inside the house, Mark Hagelin demanded that her party leave the property, according to the affidavit. From her observation of the dogs that were outside, she believed the dogs needed medical treatment, she wrote. She said Hagelin’s kennel recently had been under quarantine for parvo virus. She said she noticed loose stools all over the property, one of the symptoms of parvo, which is spread through exposure of fecal matter. She also expressed her concern that at least one of the dogs might have kennel cough, a contagious disease.

Soon after Howlett’s visit, state humane officers assisted by local and county police, executed a search warrant of Hagelin’s home and kennel. State officials said the amount of waste on the floor inside the house was so great that it was seeping through and dripping into the basement.

Town officials, who examined photographs of the inside of the home taken by police, have begun condemnation proceedings. The action does not preclude the family from cleaning up the property. If the cleanup is favorable to town officials, the complaint could be dropped.


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