Dogs Found Dead In Fairfield Home Remembered With Park Bench

FAIRFIELD, CT — In front of a cluster of five trees in Whitewood Knoll Park is a bench donated to the town of Fairfield in memory of five dogs whose tragic deaths resulted in criminal charges against their caretaker.

The bench, which will be dedicated noon Saturday, includes a plaque that reads, “In memory of the Fairfield Five: Whisper my name in your heart and I’ll be there,” along with the names of the five dogs: Achilles, Brooklyn, Buddha, Gunner and Meeko.

“The dogs who were so completely betrayed and deserved so much better must never be forgotten,” said Robin Cannamela, president of Desmond’s Army Animal Law Advocates, in an email. Cannamela's volunteer advocacy organization raised the funds to pay for the memorial bench.

Fairfield First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick will speak at Saturday’s dedication, and a monk from the Do Ngak Kunphen Ling Tibetan Buddhist Center for Universal Peace in Redding will give a blessing. Masks will be required.

Prior to their deaths, the dogs had been under the care of Heidi Lueders, the former president of local animal group Bully Breed Rescue Inc. Fairfield police in November 2018 found the remains of the dogs' carcasses in crates inside a home on Prince Street. All five dogs were affiliated with the rescue. Lueders, who is charged with five felony counts of maliciously killing an animal and one count of first-degree criminal property damage, had told rescue members and volunteers that she sent four of the dogs to a sanctuary and the fifth to a foster home.

“This was so heinous and so many of us had such a visceral reaction,” Cannamela said in the email.

In October, Lueders rejected a deal under which she would have spent 2 ½ years in prison had she agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor charges, News 12 reported at the time. Lueders waived her right to a jury trial, opting instead to go before a judge, according to News 12.

Her next pretrial appearance is scheduled for Sept. 23.