Woman Charged With 41 Animal Cruelty Counts

An Oxford woman who animal control officials accuse of neglecting horses, dogs and dozens of other animals was charged with 41 counts of animal cruelty Wednesday.

Karen Desrosiers, 46, of 48 Condon Road, turned herself in to State Police Barracks Troop A in Southbury after learning of a warrant for her arrest. She was released on a $5,000 non-surety bond and is scheduled to appear at Derby Superior Court on May 6.

In Connecticut, cruelty to animals is a Class D felony punishable by between one and five years in prison.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Desrosiers was planning to get rid of the animals because they had become too costly to take care of. But when state Animal Control Officer Barbara Godejohn asked if she would sign over the animals to the state, Desrosiers told her she should would only sign over the horse, “Santana,” the report states.

Animal control officials then received a search and seizure warrant and obtained four dogs, one cat, 18 chickens, six turkeys, six guinea hens, a donkey, a horse, two miniature horses, a goat and a pig. They are being taken care of by state animal control officials. Read the article on the affidavit here.

One of the dogs that was seized is deaf and has been adopted by the family of a deaf child who also has cancer.