Despite concerns as temperatures plummeted last weekend, officials say Norridgewock dogs are fine

Signs reading “Do Not Feed The Dogs” and “Private Property No Trespassing” are posted Wednesday at the house at 52 Depot St. in Norridgewock. Dozens of dogs that are kept outside the house drew concern last weekend during the bitter cold that moved through the region, but officials say they have inspected the property and found the kennel up to code and the dogs in good health. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

NORRIDGEWOCK — A home on Depot Street that town officials have eyed for years because dozens of dogs are kept there was again a source of concern last weekend when the animals were kept outdoors during the bitter cold that moved through the region.

A video posted to Reddit showing the dogs tethered in the yard at 52 Depot St. over the weekend garnered nearly 500 comments as of Wednesday.

Reddit is a discussion-based forum website created in 2005.

The person who recorded the video is a Norridgewock resident who has been complaining to the town and state welfare agencies for years about the property, most recently a couple days before the cold snap.

In response to the complaint, Town Manager Richard LaBelle said he was joined Friday by the town’s animal control officer and representatives with the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office and district attorney’s office to inspect the property, which is next to the New Balance factory, and found the kennel to be up to code and the dogs in good health.

The 42 dogs living there, owned by John and Lisa Ames, are all short-haired hounds, mostly beagles. John Ames explained Tuesday he used to be an avid hunter, but could not part with his pack of dogs once he became disabled about 20 years ago.

“They’re my babies,” he said.

The animal control officer, Dexter Bridges, said he has tried for three years to convince John and Lisa Ames to give away some of their dogs. He said Friday’s inspection found the doghouses are “legally adequate” — insulated satisfactorily, with baffles and stuffed with hay.

The dogs have been a source of concern for years. John and Lisa Ames sued New Balance in 2014 for erecting a fence along their property, with New Balance countersuing and claiming the couple’s dogs were “unattended” and a “nuisance.”

Ames, who is chairman of the Norridgewock Planning Board, said the dogs are “healthy and they’re happy,” and the doghouses were constructed with thick plywood that meets state requirements.

“It’s not the best situation, but it’s legal,” Bridges said. “Is it what I’d do? Certainly not. But we can’t force our ethics onto people.”

New Balance, left, is next to the house at 52 Depot St. in Norridgewock. Dozens of dogs that are kept outside the house drew concern last weekend during the bitter cold that moved through the region, but officials say they have inspected the property and found the kennel up to code and the dogs in good health. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

LaBelle said Tuesday he spoke last week with a representative from the nonprofit organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA.

“(PETA was) satisfied with what we had gone out and witnessed,” LaBelle said, “and the measurements that we had taken.”

Although the weekend’s cold snap brought temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees, with wind chill factors approaching minus 50 degrees, Maine’s animal welfare law stipulates a dog can be kept outside if it is provided adequate food, water and shelter.

Another part of the state code, however, stipulates that confining “an animal in a building, enclosure, car, boat, vehicle or vessel of any kind when extreme heat or extreme cold will be harmful to its health” constitutes animal cruelty.

Rebecca Capowski, the Norridgewock resident alleging animal abuse and who recorded the video posted to Reddit, wrote in an email Wednesday that the state code has no meaning if it is not enforced when temperatures reach record lows.

Dr. Kate Domenico, an emergency and critical care veterinarian with Portland Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Care, said Maine is like most states in that a pet owner is obligated to provide four basic needs: food, water, shelter and some degree of medical care. And an animal cannot be confiscated by authorities unless there are signs of abuse.

“In the eyes of the law, he appears to be providing their basic needs,” Domenico said of the dogs in Norridgewock.

Domenico said ideally, the dogs would have been brought inside last weekend, but given that they live outdoors and have shelter, the animals are acclimated to the weather and should be OK.

Dr. Rachael Fiske, an assistant state veterinarian, wrote in an email Wednesday that she had look to another aspect of the state code to determine if it was too cold last weekend for a dog. Shelter might be determined to be inadequate if an animal shows “continuous shivering or clinical signs (symptoms) consistent with hypothermia.”

In 2022, the Animal Legal Defense Fund found Maine’s animal welfare laws to be the best in the nation, but Fiske said “there is always the opportunity to reconsider and strengthen animal welfare laws.” She encouraged those with concerns to share them with state lawmakers.

LaBelle echoed that sentiment, saying Capowski’s battle is with the Maine Legislature. Capowski wants John and Lisa Ames held to a higher standard than the law demands, since the dogs have been found to be healthy, LaBelle said.

Bridges agreed, saying: “(Capowski) is harassing (LaBelle) and me and (state) animal welfare and the Town Office. None of us are really hunky-dory on the situation, but it’s legal.”