BANGOR – The costs for caring for the 20 dogs removed from their Topsfield owner last year continue to mount, according to Jeff Mitchell, executive director of the Bangor Humane Society’s animal shelter on Mount Hope Avenue.

“Our total costs to date are over $50,000,” Mitchell said Tuesday, adding that the case has put a strain on the Bangor shelter’s operating budget, only about 30 percent of which is reimbursed by the state.

The shelter’s annual operating budget now amounts to about $900,000, $600,000 of which must be raised and the rest funded through adoption fees and contracts with area municipalities.

After they were seized by state animal control officials, the dogs were taken to the Bangor shelter, which has an in-house veterinary clinic and as such was equipped to care for them.

Though many of the dogs remained in Bangor until recently, all but five now are in other shelters or with foster families, Mitchell said.

While legal dispute between their former owner and the state remains unresolved, the seized animals cannot be adopted out to new homes, Mitchell said.

Mitchell said the 20 dogs are spread around the state.

Three are in foster care with Bangor area families and five are still being held at the Bangor shelter because of health problems not related to the seizures.

Four others were taken to a small home-based shelter on Mount Desert Island, four are being housed at the Animal Rescue League shelter in Westbrook and four more are at the Animal Welfare Society shelter in West Kennebunk, Mitchell said. Only a few of the dogs had been spayed or neutered, which means the males and females must be kenneled separately, according to Mitchell.

“On a good note, it’s better to have them with foster families [than in a shelter setting] because that will make their chances for adoption better” because the dogs are being socialized. Because of the duration of the case, the 20 dogs remain the subject of an ongoing appeal for assistance from the community. “There’s definitely a need,” Mitchell said.

For information about how to contribute to the cause, call the Bangor Humane Society at 942-8902 or visit its Web site at www.bangorhumanesociety.com.