Betina Burr

Animal Cruelty to 40 Sharpei Dogs

Barrington NH

March 27, 1999

Betina Burr, age 55 of Beauty Hill Road, Barrington, NH pleaded guilty after being charged with animal cruelty on 10/20/99. 40 sick or dead Sharpei dogs were taken from her 2 mobile homes and a shed. The home, which was infested with rats, and covered in feces was condemned and torn down. 20 dogs survived and were taken to The Cocheco Valley Humane Society and nursed back to health.

Burr received a 1-year jail sentence, with 6 months of that time suspended. She was also fined $1000 and the fine was also suspended, and placed on a two-year probation. She can no longer legally own any animals, and she will have to reimburse the state's legal fees and make restitution to the Humane Society for the cost of caring for the dogs. She will be able to participate in a work release program.

Burr was breeding and selling the Sharpei (dogs). 25 dead dogs were found in bags in two trailers. The dog carcasses - some of them more than a year old, were found with rats, and waste remains on the property. Some of the dogs were confined in small rusty cages caked in filth.

Burr reportedly works as a secretary at a Boston law firm for attorney Harvey Bines and moved out of the trailers in December, but would return occasionally to feed the dogs.

Burr's last known address was 10 Kilburn Rd in Belmont, MA. She had previously pleaded guilty to 21 counts of cruelty to animals. She also had homes in Dorchester and Florida, listed among other assets.

5 of the dogs surviving dogs were seriously ill and euthanized. The remaining dogs were treated by the HS for rat bites, eye and skin infections and other ailments.

Update:  Burr was sentenced to 1 year in jail, with 6 months time suspended, a fine of $1000 also suspended and 2 years probation.  She can no longer own any animals and has to pay the Humane Society for the cost of caring for the dogs.  She is eligible for a work release.  Burr served 4 months in the Strafford County House of Correction and was released

Update: 11/30/00 Burr is challenging the $43,158 fee she's been ordered to pay the Cocheco Valley Humane Society for taking care of the dogs she mistreated. Burr served 4 months of the 6-month sentence in the Strafford County House of Corrections for 20 counts of animal cruelty after officials discovered 21 Sharpeis and 25 Sharpei carcasses among squalid conditions at her mobile home.

Update: 10/13/01 The NH Supreme Court has ruled that Burr will have to reimburse the Cocheco Valley Humane Society for caring for the sharpeis they rescued and cared for. Burr will not have to reimburse the HS for employee wages. The amount Burr will have to pay has not been decided. Burr appealed the restitution on the grounds that the HS calculated unreasonable and inflated expenses. She also claimed the HS did not suffer as much economic loss as it charged because many fees were offset by donations. The Supreme Court ruled that the fact that the HS received donations did not mean Burr did not have to pay. 

Reference:

WMUR TV Channel 9

The Concord, NH Monitor

The Manchester Union Leader, 10/21/99