Police are investigating why a pair of women had 22 dogs, including three dead ones, in an Jeep Cherokee parked at a Wal-Mart in Salem, New Hampshire.

(Photo's courtesy of the Lowell Sun of the dogs believed to be from Fern Clark's

puppymill in Somerville, ME)

Police say they received a call from a concerned citizen who said she talked to two women inside the store who claimed to have 26 dogs outside in the parking lot. They also told her several of the dogs had died.

Police said the tipster waited outside for officers to arrive and when Moolic and the second woman headed toward their car, they were approached by police.

The women said they had rescued 12 of the dogs from a puppy mill in Maine and that the other ten dogs belonged to one of the women.

Police were alerted by a customer who said the women told her they had the dogs in their vehicle.

The dogs were packed into a half-dozen small crates, police said.

"There were three or four dogs in each one," Salem officer Charles Flahive said. "The smell and conditions inside the car were terrible. They were all shaking and scared. They were all in tough condition."

One of the dogs bit Demers on the chin when he was removing it from the vehicle.  "They're a feisty lot," he said.

The dead dogs were an adult female and two puppies.

One of the women, Amy Moolic, 32 of Dracut, MA, was arrested for disorderly conduct after police said she became "agitated and belligerent" in the parking lot.

  (Photo courtesy of WBZ)

Police said Moolic told them she had rescued the 12 dogs from a puppymill in Somerville, Maine. They are talking with animal abuse officials in Maine and Massachusetts as part of their investigation.  (See also Fern Clark casefile).

"Right now, we don't think there was any abuse going on," said Sgt. James Chase. "We've taken the dogs into protective custody."

  (Photo courtesy of WBZ - some of the dogs seized)

(Photo's courtesy of the Salem Animal Rescue League-One of the dogs before he was groomed and after)

Police said Moolic could face animal cruelty charges of storing the dogs in such tight quarters. They said the ten dogs she said were hers were in better condition than the others.

Moolic, who was released on $500 bail, could retrieve 4 of the dogs immediately, police said. The others may be offered for adoption.

(Photo's courtesy of the Salem Animal Rescue League - Two more of the dogs seized)

Reference: