She has too many dogs

I have just returned home from Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, where I witnessed an attack on animal ownership that has reached a whole new level.

For years I have had knowledge about how The Humane Society of the United States targets people that own more dogs or horses than the average person. However, what I witnessed in the case of Christina Fay and her 84 dogs takes harassment to ridiculous extremes.

Thanks to John Bolin who, after a career in law enforcement, went to work for an animal rights organization as their investigator, we’ve got new insight. Bolin taught me that local authorities now actually include animal rights organizations on search warrants and in all legal access documents. This means that, in the name of law enforcement, these organizations who want to end animal ownership now have legal access to your entire place and all documents that may be used in a trial against you.

Christina Fay moved into Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, from Maine, and purchased a large home. I walked the 5,000-square-foot basement of this mansion that sits on 57 acres in the country. Unfortunately for Fay, the house is actually considered to be within the town limits of Wolfeboro even though I could not see another house from this picturesque estate. I think that may be a part of the problem.

Tina Fay has a love for Great Danes. In fact, the first time I talked to her on the phone it was very clear she really had little concern about what may happen to her through her current legal proceedings but she was deeply worried about the future fate of the dogs she deeply loves.

In the spring of 2017, 60-year-old Fay had surgery on her knee and was not very mobile. About the same time, the young lady who had been working for her got pregnant, so Tina needed to hire another person to assist in caring for her dogs. Tina ran an ad and hired Marilyn Kelly who then moved into the apartment in Fay’s home.

In June of 2017, a law enforcement raid took place because of tip (we now know was made by Kelly) about animal abuse and all 84 dogs were seized. It is very clear to me, although it must have been completely foreign to the jurors, that Kelly staged the scenes before she took the damning photographs and videos. She even altered the photos to make it appear that the dogs she was being paid to care for on Fay’s behalf, were neglected. Not surprising to me was the fact that Kelly also worked for the Conway Area Humane Society, which was involved in the raid.

Fay was convicted by a jury in February of 17 counts of animal neglect based completely on the doctored photos. After spending two days in the area and talking with locals, the jury clearly convicted her simply for “having too many dogs.” The only evidence I ever heard that moved people was hearing that, “She had a puppy mill.” I don’t accept that term. I don’t care if you have 1, 8, 85 or 800 dogs, it is your business and not your self-righteous neighbors to determine how many you can properly care for.

As much time as I could spend on this “rights” issue, something else weighs heavily on my mind about this case. As I walked through the house where the dogs once lived, it has been completely stripped. I mean there are no pictures hanging on the walls, no glass in the cupboards, no toilets left in the bathrooms and not a single personal item or family heirloom item left in this home.

The home has two stories above the basement. There were no dogs on the upstairs levels, yet that did not matter. Everything was gone. I asked why all the furnishings were gone and where they went. Everyone I talked to claimed they didn’t know.

Here is what I know: A raid occurred in Tina Fay’s home on June 2017 and 100 percent of her property (including her dogs) was taken from her. It wasn’t until December 2017 that the first trial occurred and the second jury trial followed in February 2018. The only evidence to prove guilt or innocence was photos and videos taken by someone I believe was working undercover for HSUS and who was hired to care for the animals. Even more concerning is the fact that law enforcement of Wolfeboro and prosecutors have participated in this set up and completely destroyed a woman whose only crime was owning what her neighbors considered to be too many dogs.

The truly sad part is that this is happening every single day somewhere in this country. Since airing Tina’s story on my radio programs, you can’t begin to believe how many phone calls I have received with stories just like this one and even worse. How about getting involved locally so people aren’t talking about what happened to you next?

Editor’s note: Trent Loos is a sixth generation United States farmer, host of the daily radio show, Loos Tales, and founder of Faces of Agriculture, a non-profit organization putting the human element back into the production of food. Get more information at www.LoosTales.com, or email Trent at [email protected].