Eastern Connecticut Woman Charged With 103 Counts Of Animal Cruelty

WOODSTOCK, CT — An eastern Connecticut woman Thursday was charged with 103 counts of animal cruelty and a warrant accuses her of causing pain and suffering at a Woodstock property that led to emergency care for 99 animals and four dogs being euthanized out of mercy.

The Woodstock home had "deplorable conditions," according to a warrant.

The warrant was requested by the animal services director of the Northeast Council of Governments and granted at Danielson Superior Court. Tracy Donovan, 59, who lives at the home on Route 169 in Woodstock, was to be arraigned on a $150,000 bond Thursday.

According to the warrant, the home went under scrutiny in January when an appraiser hired by a California-based property acquisition company noticed several dogs in cages without access to food and water in the home, which smelled so bad the appraiser couldn't get the stench off his clothing. The appraiser had to shower and discard the clothes once the job was finished, according to the warrant.

The warrant mentions piles of garbage, along with vehicles and construction materials strewn about the property. A strong odor of feces and urine was in the air on the property, according to the warrant.

Two goats were living in a shed amid a 3-inch layer of feces and shavings and dried-up food and water bowls caked with dirt, according to the warrant.

When they arrived to search the home, state troopers and Northeast Council of Governments Animal Services Director Jennifer Hutchins encountered 20 and 30 dogs barking incessantly, some with a loud, high-pitched yelp or whimper indicative of being in distress, and some were jumping at doors and windows in efforts to get out, according to the warrant. Some smaller dogs were in cages and no food seemed available to them, according to the warrant.

Exotic birds could be heard in the home, according to the warrant.

Other dog were outside without food and water, the warrant states.

The home was full of feces and urine stains and the dogs were without access to "food, water and wholesome air," according to the warrant. The smell of urine and feces was "overwhelming" to investigators, according to the warrant.

Four older dogs had to be "immediately euthanized" after arriving at a veterinary office because of "chronic disease and irreversible neglect," according to the warrant, which named Donovan as the one responsible. The four could not stand up when investigators searched the home, according to the warrant.

The 103 charges stem from the removal of 96 dogs, two cats, two bird, one "wild"rabbit and a pair of goats from the property.

The cats were suffering from flea anemia and respiratory illnesses, their nails were extremely long and their fur was matted with embedded urine and feces, according to the warrant.

The birds were dehydrated, suffering from "beak issues," and skin infections and had lost feathers, according to the warrant.

The goats were anemic and dehydrated, according to the warrant.

The warrant blames Donovan for "severe neglect." One neighbor complained she was trying to sell some animals, according to the warrant.