LITTLETON, Maine — The Houlton Humane Society is struggling to care for seven wolf-dog hybrids following a seizure of about 67 animals by state animal welfare agents on Jan. 13.
The seizure was the culmination of a two-year investigation into alleged illegal breeding and selling of dogs, according to Liam Hughes, director of the state’s animal welfare program.
“We were contacted by animal welfare early last week that they were going to do a search warrant and seizure at a residence on the Framingham Road,” said Heather Miller, executive director for the Houlton Humane Society.
Last Tuesday’s seizure was the second time in a week that animals have been taken from a home and brought to the shelter. On Jan. 8, Miller took in 13 animals from a home in Amity. She serves as that town’s animal control officer. Among those animals were five cats, five rabbits and three dogs.
“We didn’t have a lot of space because we were involved in a seizure of 20 animals from Amity the previous week,” she said. “That case was another living conditions situation.”
Any animals that are taken from a home cannot be put up for adoption until the matter is resolved in court. Miller said she was hopeful that this case would be resolved Tuesday in Houlton District Court.
With the seizure in Littleton, animal advocates from Greater Androscoggin Shelter of Lewiston, Coastal Humane Society of Brunswick, Bangor and Augusta humane societies and the Animal Refuge League of Westbrook were all involved in the seizure and assisted with taking in the animals.
“There was simply no way one shelter could take all of these animals,” Miller said.
In last Tuesday’s seizure in Littleton, agents found a collection of dogs, cats, chickens and goats living in conditions that were described as “not appropriate” for the animals. The animals were taken from the scene to shelters and rescue organizations from Presque Isle to Portland, Hughes said, and will undergo veterinary evaluation. He said that it is a process that will take about a week given the number of animals involved.
Many of the animals seized were border collie, Chihuahua and mixed breed smaller dogs, but agents also found wolf-hybrids, which are now illegal in the state of Maine. According to Miller, animal shelters cannot adopt out wolf-hybrids.
“They now fall under the jurisdiction of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife,” she explained. “They have to go to licensed rescue.”
In order for the Houlton shelter to even take in the animals, a special emergency permit was needed, Miller said.
“They are being held here until a sanctuary can be found that will take them,” she said. “They are not adoptable dogs, so we are simply the holding facility.”
Holding those animals is proving to be taxing on the shelter’s resources, Miller added, because they must be quarantined from all other animals in the shelter. In fact, in order to make room, the Houlton shelter had to send all of its adoptable dogs to other shelters.
“They are not socialized, not housebroken and have lived outside their entire lives,” she said.
Blankets, puppy pads and dog food are the biggest needs for the shelter at the moment. Because the hybrids are not housebroken, they are covered in feces and cannot be bathed. The blankets and pads are used to absorb the excrement and then discarded for sanitary reasons.
“These animals all have diarrhea because of the change in food,” she said. “We are now giving them good quality food that their bodies are just not used to having. There is just a huge mess.”
The hybrids are also consuming about 25-30 pounds of dog food a day, which is proving to be an unanticipated financial burden for the shelter. The state does provide reimbursement for animals it seizes, but often times it can take nearly a year for those funds to be made available.
The Houlton shelter was unable to take on any cats because they are already at capacity, and is not equipped for livestock, so the goats and chickens had to be sent to other facilities.
Miller said, numbers wise, the Littleton seizure was “one of the worst” she has been involved with. However, the condition of the animals was very good given the circumstances.
“These animals were not starved or abused,” she said. “There was one dog with a broken leg, that had been hit by a car and had not received vet care. So that leg will probably have to be amputated. This really was more of a neglect case. The owners just didn’t have the funding or the means to care for them.”
Miller noted every dog in the home was spayed or neutered.
“There is a lot of stuff going around that is just not true,” Miller said. “Yes, they should not have had this many animals. They just got in way over their heads.”
Charges are up to the Aroostook County district attorney, Hughes said, adding that it was his understanding the homeowners are no longer residing in the home as of this week. District Attorney Todd Collins said Tuesday that the investigation remains ongoing and expects formal charges to be announced in about two weeks. The names of the individuals involved were not released because charges had not been filed as of Tuesday morning.
Miller said a number of people have called the shelter to see if they could adopt the hybrids, but by law they are not allowed to do so.
“If you have a wolf-hybrid now, they must be registered, micro-chipped and spayed or neutered,” Miller said. “By law, there can be no more hybrid puppies being born. If an animal shelter gets one brought in, they are required to either find a refuge that will take them or euthanize them because they cannot be adopted.”
Editor’s Note: Bangor Daily News reporter Julia Bayly contributed information to this article.
