MA: Pit bulls in 'deplorable' conditions

Pit bulls in 'deplorable' conditions
Sentinel & Enterprise Posted: 07/27/2012 07:02:19 AM EDT

FITCHBURG -- The last blue pit-bull terrier poked his head through the rear door at 444 Water St. Thursday evening, his first whiff of fresh air in what must have felt like forever.

He took one tentative step forward before he started trotting, tail wagging in full circle like a propeller, greeting the team of police, firefighters and animal-rescue officials who saved him and three others from cages in a filthy, baking basement.

By 6:15 p.m., three hours after a utility worker called police about conditions in the storage building, all four animals were on their way to shelters to begin their recovery.

"It appears they'd been down there a considerable amount of time," said police Sgt. Matthew Lemay. "It doesn't appear that the cages, or the dogs, had ever been cleaned... There was no power, no food, no water."

Officers and firefighters had to make an emergency entry through the building -- which formerly housed the Registry of Motor Vehicles but is now privately owned -- after smelling a foul odor and hearing the dogs' cries from inside.

Fitchburg Animal Control Officer Suzan Kowaleski and her assistant, Mike East, took care of the first of the four male pit bulls, who escaped the basement as soon as he could. He was silent in the back of the department's air-conditioned truck, except for his tail thumping on the side.

Lemay declined to name the building's owner, and it was unclear who was keeping the dogs in the basement. The building is being used for storage. It contained car parts and broken-down motorcycles. Some beds on the second level indicate people may have been squatting in it.

"It's the worst I've ever seen," Lemay said. "It's deplorable."

There were feces and urine throughout the building -- the waste was piled 8 inches high in some places. The Fire Department provided breathing devices and fans, but the stench lingered hours after the doors were opened.

The dogs were kept in cages, about 4 feet by 4 feet, in the basement of the brick building. The only air came from a single, foot-high window at ground level.

Lt. Alan Borgal, a state humane officer working in the Law Enforcement Department for the Animal Rescue League of Boston, said the ammonia from the dogs' urine was the worst he'd ever smelled.

"This ammonia smell is horrible, and it can actually be very harmful to the lungs," he said. "Your eyes burn. Even with a mask on, your throat starts to burn. In 32 years (of law enforcement) this is the most pungent, acrid odor I've smelled."

The dogs' temperament despite their situation was positive. All of them had signs of past injury, especially to their paws, Lemay said.

The person responsible for keeping the animals will face at least four counts of felony animal cruelty, he said. Officers at the scene questioned a man who said he was walking and feeding the animals, then told him to leave the property.

Because there were more than three dogs being kept there, Borgal explained, the site constitutes an illegal kennel operation. None of the dogs was licensed with the city.

Officers declined to say where the animals are being sheltered.


Pit bull is brought out of the former Registry of Motor Vehicles building on Water Street in Fitchburg on Thursday. (SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE / BRETT CRAWFORD)

Pit bulls in 'deplorable' conditions - Sentinel Enterprise