Buxton kennel faces cruelty charges

BUXTON – The owners of a kennel where dogs tested positive for parasites and mange have been charged with animal cruelty and police have seized control of the facility, which they call a puppy mill.

John and Heidi Frasca, owners of J’aime Kennel, face 17 charges after Buxton police searched the facility early Tuesday. Police said the charges include 14 civil violations of running a kennel without a license, two criminal counts of animal cruelty and one criminal count of failure to provide necessary medical treatment to animals.

Of the roughly 250 dogs and puppies there, many had sarcoptic mange, a contagious disease found in dogs. Further tests for the intestinal parasite giardia were to be performed on the animals.

The dogs were primarily miniature Australian shepherds, Brussels griffons, French bulldogs, American bulldogs and shelties. It could take months and several hundreds of thousands of dollars to restore the dogs’ health, officials said.

More than 40 volunteers from the Humane Society of the United States, the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland, the Animal Welfare Society of Kennebunk and veterinarians helped police during Tuesday’s seizure. Police have received repeated complaints about conditions in the kennel.

“In going in first, we said, OK, we can handle this,” said Steven Jacobsen of the Animal Welfare Society. “As you went from room to room and saw the numbers of multiple animals per cage, we realized this was a fairly significant seizure.”

Police also searched medical and veterinary records at the kennel. They urged anyone who has bought a puppy or dog from J’aime Kennel within the past few months to have the animal tested for both giardia and sarcoptic mange.

Puppy mills contribute to the millions of unwanted dogs euthanized at shelters every year, the Humane Society said.