A mother and daughter have been arrested and are facing a combined 27 charges alleging a range of misconduct relating to animals in their care, including that they kept dogs in squalid conditions and illegally sold some of them.

(Photo's courtesy of Foster's Daily Democrat)

Carol A. Jones, 42, and Breanna Martel, 19, both of 885 Portsmouth Ave., are each facing 12 Class A misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty for allegedly keeping dogs in crates fouled with urine and feces. They each also are facing a Class A misdemeanor count of selling animals without a license.

Martel is also facing a Class A misdemeanor charge of prohibited acts, alleging she misrepresented that one of her dogs was a service animal so she could bring it into buildings not permitting pets, according to Greenland Police Sgt. Dawn Sawyer.

"Her dog is not a service dog ... it has no formal training or certification," Sawyer said.

Police say the pair would buy dogs from outside the state and bring them to Greenland, where they would illegally sell them.

Sawyer said police began investigating the pair after Martel came into the Greenland police station to issue a complaint that her dog had been stolen.

Police say an investigation showed the dog in question had not been stolen, but rather given to an individual by Martel.

Greenland officers went to Jones' and Martel's residence where they reported finding 12 dogs in crates. Sawyer said the animals appeared to be in good condition, but described the crates as filthy, thus prompting the animal cruelty charges.

"They weren't physically abused, but they were kept in terrible conditions. There was feces and urine everywhere," Sawyer said.

The animals were taken to the New Hampshire Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and have been adopted, Sawyer said.

Jones and Martel were arrested Jan. 30. Both are free on $5,000 personal recognizance bail and are due in Portsmouth District Court.

Jones and Martel were having problems with their animals before police got involved, Sawyer said.

The SPCA was involved with complaints alleging the pair had been offering an illegal rescue operation out of their home, Sawyer said.

Jones and Martel told the Department of Agriculture for a follow-up inquiry in July that they stopped operating the rescue, Sawyer said.

Update 1/15/10:  A local woman is claiming the New Hampshire Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals unjustly took nine of her animals, while the SPCA argues she was running an illegal rescue shelter and said it intends to file charges of animal cruelty.

Martel filed a lawsuit in Rockingham Superior Court after the SPCA seized six chihuahuas, a Labrador retriever, a dachshund and a cat.

  (Photo courtesy of Rich Beauchesne/Seacoastonline - Martel with dogs Chase and Max)

A motion for Martel to get the animals back was denied, as the animals had already been adopted through the Stratham shelter. Martel is now filing a request for a rehearing in hopes of recouping some of her costs and intends to file a civil suit in Exeter District Court, where she may be able to learn who has adopted her former pets.

The SPCA said the animals were surrendered by Martel's mother after complaints of smells coming from their residence. Those complaints led to a test that same day that revealed high levels of ammonia at the residence. There was also a determination that the animals were neglected, according to the SPCA.

The complaint alleging neglect reportedly came from someone who had been inside the home and witnessed the dogs living in squalor and feces throughout, said Steve Sprowl, SPCA cruelty investigator.

The allegations were made against a woman who says she buckles her animals in car seats for safety and called the police when she ran over a squirrel with her car. Three of the chihuahuas surrendered from the home were rescued from a puppymill in Arkansas, Martel said. She brought them to New Hampshire to find a permanent home for them.

"I have a weakness for animals," she confessed.

Martel said she lives with a mental disability, and her mother — who helped her daughter through a difficult time — said losing the animals is like losing members of the family.

"The dogs are her life," mother Carol Jones said. "These dogs were the only thing to keep her from harming herself. When they took them out of here, it's like they murdered her."

Sprowl said the SPCA understood Martel is under psychological care, and they left two animals she has had for more than four years with her — a German shepherd and a Labrador retriever service dog. However, he said she will still be charged with neglect and cruelty to those dogs in addition to the animals surrendered.

Martel is calling into question whether the SPCA followed proper procedure in allowing her mother to sign over the surrender of the animals because she was not the owner, whether the organization should have provided an opportunity to resolve the situation and whether the animals should have been allowed to be adopted out within days of the surrender. She is also questioning whether the SPCA took advantage of her mental disability.

The animals were microchipped, spayed and neutered and immediately adopted, Sprowl said, as they are popular pets. There are no rules on how long the SPCA has to hold an animal that is surrendered, he said. If an animal is seized, they are held through the court process, he said.

"It's nothing different that we did," he said. "We do this with all dogs that are surrendered."

In addition, he said this is not the first interaction between the SPCA and Martel. Last April and July, the organization came to Martel's home to notify her she was running an illegal operation and warned her to stop, Sprowl said. Following that, a call of neglect came into the office, Sprowl said, which led the SPCA to join with Greenland police in an investigation.

"She's bringing them in as a rescue, advertising herself as a rescue group online, and you have to be licensed in the state and have a nonprofit to run a rescue," Sprowl said. "She was told not to do that, and it came to our attention that she was still running a rescue."

Martel said she didn't know a license was needed to begin operating as a rescue. She claims she did not make a profit from putting the animals up for adoption, just covered costs of caring for the animals.  "I shouldn't have done it, but I have too big of a heart to let the dogs go," Martel said.

While the operation was effectively stopped when the animals were taken, Sprowl said the Greenland Police Department is working on an arrest warrant on charges of neglect and cruelty.

"We do it all by law," he said. "They were voluntarily surrendered by the mother with no coaxing. She was told when she signed the form that it is irrevocable, which means she can't get the dogs back, and I explained that to her before she signed it."

There have been no other complaints against the SPCA of animals being taken unfairly, Sprowl said.

Martel said she understands now it's too late to get her animals back, but she would like to reach out to their new owners. "I want to stay connected to them somehow," she said.

Update 2/5/10:  A Greenland woman previously charged with 12 counts of animal cruelty and court-ordered to report any new pets pleaded guilty to being in contempt of court for getting a new puppy.

Breanna Martel, now 20, appeared in Portsmouth District Court where she admitted to the contempt charge.

Martel was ordered to notify police about any new animals in her care following a guilty plea to a count of selling pets without a required license.

Through her attorney, Martel negotiated a plea deal that dismissed 12 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty alleging she subjected 10 dogs and 2 cats to cruelty by keeping them in inhumane conditions. None of the animals suffered from physical injury, said police.

The most recent allegations surfaced less than two weeks after her conviction when she applied at a local animal shelter for a “food share program” that provides pet food to owners and caretakers with financial difficulties.

When applying, Martel was required to disclose how many pets she has and reported two dogs, which the court allowed her to keep, as well as a third Pekingese-dachshund puppy.

Martel told previously told police she planned to “rehome” the puppy when it reached six months of age.

As a result she was fined $300 and is court-ordered not to “own, posses or keep” animals “temporarily or permanently” regardless if it is “part ownership, possession or pet sitting.”

If Martel wishes to get a pet the court order mandates she get prior written approval from Police Chief Michael Maloney.

Update 3/12/10:  A mother and daughter charged with a combined 27 crimes, most alleging animal cruelty, reached a plea deal when 25 of the charges were dismissed.

Martel, allegedly subjected 10 dogs and 2 cats to cruelty by keeping them in inhumane conditions. According to Officer Wayne Young, most of the animals were found in Martel's living room, cramped in cages stacked on top of one another. The cages were lined with animal waste, feces was on carpeting, a “filthy” cat box was on scene and ammonia tests conducted by an SPCA agent exceeded OSHA standards, said the officer.

The discovery came eight months after SPCA cruelty investigator Steve Sprowl warned Martel about operating an animal rescue she called “Seacoast Fur Babies” without a license, according to an affidavit by Young.

Martel was scheduled for a May 12 Portsmouth District Court trial, but through attorney Anthony Naro, negotiated the plea deal which dismissed all of the cruelty charges and she pleaded guilty to a count of selling pets without the required license. In exchange for her plea, Judge Sawako Gardner imposed a $500 fine, with $200 suspended pending a year of good behavior. Martel was also court-ordered to notify police if she intends to obtain any new animals.

Her mother, Carol Jones, was also charged with 12 counts of animal cruelty and a misdemeanor alleging a dog sale without proper licenses. Police allege Dept. of Agriculture information proved Jones had nine Chihuahua puppies shipped to her from Arkansas under her name. Following her guilty plea to one count of selling animals without a proper license, Jones received an identical fine and conditions as those imposed on her daughter.

Jones and Martel stated they were rescuing needy animals and criticized the SPCA for “seizing” eight dogs and a cat. Police said Jones voluntarily surrendered the animals to the SPCA and they have all since been placed in homes. With information that Martel is under psychological care, the SPCA left Martel with two dogs.

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