Two Mystic Puppy Mill Dogs Come Home To Ledyard

Drew and Londa Wesche have always had dogs.

Londa had a dog – an Afghan – when they got married in 1979, and since then there have been other dogs, cats, miniature horses, and birds. Most recently, there were two Rotttweilers, both of whom passed away last year. For the first time in a really long time, the Wesches were dogless.

Around Christmastime, the Gallup Hill Road couple began thinking about getting a new dog, but one that they adopted was not a good fit, and so they were left at loose ends. Then last month, they heard about the five dogs in Mystic in what Groton police were calling a puppy mill breeding operation, and they called Groton Animal Control.

Animal Control Officer Donna Duso had a pair of dogs from the house that she wanted to be adopted together; when the cocker spaniel and schnauzer were separated, they went “crazy.” In addition, neither was really house trained, and both had medical issues.

“At one point we had four dogs,” Drew said, “and most recently we had two big dogs, so we thought (having two) was nothing in terms of care and feeding. And when we saw them …”

So Lily the schnauzer and Katie the cocker spaniel, one snow white and the other chocolate brown, moved in with the Wesches on March 17. They settled in immediately.

“They are great. We couldn’t have asked for better,” Drew said, sitting on the couch blanketed by the two dogs. “I think they are kind of like POWs. They formed this bond in the awful situation they were in, and they can’t not be together.”

They are working on the house training, and on simply providing the dogs with a quiet routine. “They need a break,” Drew said. “They’ve had a rough time of it.”

Police arrested a woman calling herself Mary Howard and charged her with criminal impersonation, five counts of cruelty to animals and interfering with police.  She has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has a public defender.

Police found five dogs in her rented home at 59 Oslo St. suffering from various stages of neglect, according to a police report. Police also said Mary Howard was not her real name, and that it was Linda Snow. She had previously been arrested for animal cruelty for operating a puppy mill in Massachusetts. There were eight warrants out for her arrest, court documents said.

But on Friday, The Day reported that the woman appeared in court and gave her identity as Gloria Marriott. Her next court appearance is April 15.

The dogs rescued were a female schnauzer, female cocker spaniel, , male Shih Tzu, and a puppy believed to be a shih cocker-cocker spaniel mix. They were all in various states of ill health, and suffering from neglect. Duso was granted legal custody of the dogs by a Superior Court judge, and the Groton Animal Foundation raised money for their treatment. All have been .

Drew said the dogs are surprisingly happy and trusting.

“With rescue dogs, I think they know that you helped them out of a bad situation. They seem appreciative,” he said.