Larry Rogers Mason	Neglect of dogs	Newport, NH Sullivan County	00/00/2005
	Neglect of dogs	Bridgewater, NH	December, 2005
	Hoarding - 32 German Shepard's on an old school bus	Bennington, VT Bennington County	July 18, 2006

Police arrested Larry Mason, age 52, of Newport and Bridgewater, NH who had 32 German Shepard’s living in a school bus for animal cruelty.  Mason was parked at the Top Notch Diner on Route 9 when the arrest was made.

 (Photo courtesy of Neal Goswami, theBennington Banner) After arriving at the scene, police made Mason remove 11 dogs that were running loose inside the bus and chain them to hooks on the outside of the vehicle. Mason was holding the remaining dogs in crates on the bus.

      (Photo courtesy of Neal Goswam, the Bennington Banner) Police took pictures and documented the name, age and condition of each dog. During that process, an officer with the United States Parks Service arrived to question Mason about a dog that was found near Somerset Reservoir where Mason had previously been. The officer believed that Mason had left one of his dogs behind earlier that day.

"The condition of the dogs varied. Some of them looked all right, but I ran my hand down the back of one, and I could grip its spine," stated Police Chief Richard Gauthier "Some of them were in horrific condition ... broken bones."

Officer Fred Gilbert who entered the bus to photograph the condition of the dogs, said the stench of feces was overwhelming. "That's just wrong. That's nasty," he said after exiting the bus.

"It was the smell of urine and feces from too many large animals contained in too small of a hot space. It was overwhelming," he said.

Police spent about six hours, trying to determine where the dogs could be placed to receive proper care and treatment. According to Gauthier, the dogs have been taken to at least four different shelters.

The bus was also impounded.

Mason was released by police and is due in Bennington District Court on Aug. 14 to answer the charge of animal cruelty.

Update 7/22/06:  Mason, said his long-term plan was to find a rural congregation in the heartland where he, an ordained minister, could serve.  Mason said he regarded the German shepherds as his “children” and his “flock” and said he would never abuse, mistreat or neglect them.

Mason said there were no injuries that wouldn’t be found in any large group of active dogs.  One dog had a cut from a choke collar, and others had dirty and matted coats because of mud they had picked up during the recent rainstorms.

One of the dogs broke bones in a fall from a dock, according to Mason, but she was seen by a veterinarian the same day.  Mason said because of the location of the breaks, there was nothing that could be done about them.

Investigators found that the town of Newport took Mason to court for violating zoning and health ordinances by selling puppies out of his home.  He was also cited because neighbors said his dogs created a nuisance.  At that time in 2004 Mason had 12 dogs.

Mason settled a lawsuit with the town of Newport over zoning violations for illegally keeping and breeding the German shepherds on his Grove St. property. Following that settlement, Mason was forced to hire an excavator to clear the dog feces from his property. Mason then move to an 80-acre parcel on Bascom Rd. Mason lived in a tent on the property. Mason then moved to Bridgewater, NH for a short time before problems with that town brought him back to Newport earlier in 2006. Mason is a former member of Newport's zoning board of administration.

On July 12^th, Winhall, VT Police were called regarding a noise complaint, but Mason had the dogs back on the bus by the time the police arrived.

Mason is due to face the animal cruelty charges in the Bennington Vermont District Court on August 14, 2006.

Update 7/20/06:

 (Photo courtesy of WTEN TV10) The 32 German Shepherds, ranging in age from 7-months to 10-years, all lived inside the bus. More than 20 dog crates stuffed into school bus seats, chewed and caked with feces, are the only homes the dogs knew.

The bus was leaking some fluids and when animal control arrived, it was determined to be urine.

The dogs are in protective custody, spread out between shelters or kennels across the city. No one shelter could hold them all. The dogs are recovering from sores, untreated broken bones and malnutrition. None of the dogs are spayed or neutered. One of the dogs had 2 puppies on the evening they were taken into custody, bringing the total number of dogs seized to 34.

Police say Mason used a plywood board as a makeshift bed, living alongside his pack of dogs.

Update 8/14/06:

 (Photo courtesy of Neal Gosami, the Bennington Banner) Mason appeared in Bennington District Court today and plead not guilty to 2 misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals. If convicted, Mason could face a maximum sentence of 1 year in prison and a $1000 fine for each count.

Acting Judge Gordon Black released Mason under several conditions, including that he not own, possess or control, even temporarily any domesticated animals. Mason is due back in court on Sept. 26th.

Affidavits filed at the hearing from the NH State Veterinarian stated that Mason had been investigated in NH in October 2005 and that he had been educated about proper living arrangements for the dogs, including housing, ventilation, lighting, whelping areas, feeding and watering. In April 2006, Dr. Crawford sent Mason a letter that failed to address earlier concerns and listed several things he should improve. Among them was feeding each dog 50% more food than he had been feeding them and that each dog should have at least 1 gallon of water per day, crates and food dishes needed to be scrubbed and the ventilation still needed to be improved. In addition, Mason was advised to find new homes for 20 of the 38 dogs he possessed at the time.

On June 6th, a followup visit was made and discovered that Mason had left his resident with the dogs. In Newport, Mason was living in a tent but when they went to locate him he had gone again.

Bonnie Rettig, who was a neighbor of Mason, said at one time he had 57 dogs on his property in terrible condition. Some of the dogs were vicious and attacked each other - she and 3 other witnesses testified they say the dogs turn cannibalistic on 14 dogs that were eaten and between the ages of 7-10 months old.

The veterinarian who examined 8 of the dogs after they were seized stated in her affidavit that Mason is an "animal hoarder". Dr. Anna E. Worth stated Mason is unable to understand the pain and suffering he is causing these dogs. My hope is he is unable to have any animals in his life until he receives treatment.

Update on the dogs: the dog that delivered her pup the evening she was seized, has turned cannibalistic and consumed the puppy within days of its birth. 3 of the dogs were deemed too aggressive. The remaining dogs are recovering from being emaciated, malnourished and emaciated. Several of them have been treated for intestinal parasites, open wounds, abrasions and diarrhea.

Update 11/17/06:

  (Photo courtesy of Peter Crabtree, the Bennington Banner) Mason appeared in the Bennington County District Court yesterday to continue his fight to retain ownership of his 32 dogs.

Mason's public defender, Frederick C. Gragdon, called Mason to the stand before District Judge David A. Howard.  Judge Howard ruled that Mason would have limited immunity for the civil forfeiture hearing and that his testimony cannot be used against him in the criminal trial.  It can however be used to impeach him.

Mason's lawyer contends that the state wanted the forfeiture hearing held before Mason's criminal case to put Mason in a situation where he may incriminate himself.  Deputy DA Andrew Costello denied the assertion.  Costello stated they wanted the hearing held first because the dogs are waiting to be adopted and are costing the town, veterinarians and shelters "a ton of money".  It is estimated the dogs are costing an average of $525 a week to house and feed them.  The Animal control budget of $3000 has already been depleted.  Town Manager Stuart Hurd said the town has spent more than $20,000 thru October in caring for the dogs.

The state called 6 witnesses to testify against Mason, 2 ACO's, 2 Police Officers and 2 veterinarians testified about the conditions of the animals while in Mason's care and now.

Mason's attorney argued that it would be unconstitutional for anyone to spay or neuter Mason's dogs before his appeal options are exhausted.

Vermont law once held that even if a court granted a prosecutor's request to take an animal away from its owner, the owner could delay the order while an appeal was filed.  But during the 2003-04 Legislative session the law was changed to read "a order of the district court under this section may be appealed as a matter of right to the supreme court.  The order shall not be stayed pending appeal".

Judge Howard did not issue a ruling at this hearing but stated a decision would come next week at the earliest.

Update 11/29/06:

  (Photo courtesy of Peter Crabtree, the Bennington Banner) The judge ruled that Mason must forfeit his right to own the dogs.  The state will now ask that the dogs be turned over to Bennington's animal control for adoption.  Several people have already expressed an interest in adopting the dogs.

Mason jury selection date is set for January 8th and again on January 10th 2007.

Update 2/27/07:  Mason was given a sentence of 4 -12 months in prison - all of which was suspended except for 5 days to be served in a Dept of Corrections work crew.  Mason cannot own pets for at least three years.  He must pay almost $34,000 in restitution for the costs associated with boarding the dogs.  He was also placed on a 4 year probation.  At year 4 he will be allowed to own animals but he will be subject to random unannounced visits from an ACO if he acquires new animals.  He must also receive animal cruelty education and prevention counseling as well as psychological counseling.

Mason's public defender attorney, Frederick Bragdon has asked for a restitution hearing stating his client's financial status as "quite dire".  Bragdon also stated he was appealing the judge's decision that creates a stay for Mason's incarceration, but not his parole.

In December 2006, the dogs were ordered turned over to the custody of Bennington Animal Control Officer Christine Crawford, who said most of the dogs have been placed with new owners.  Bennington District Court ordered Mason to forfeit the 32 dogs. Mason appealed the forfeiture ruling and his conviction for animal cruelty to the Vermont Supreme Court, but the court upheld the order and the conviction.

Update 11/14/08:  A former New Hampshire man who was convicted of animal cruelty after police found that he was taking 32 German shepherds across the state in a school bus was granted an early discharge from probation on Thursday but is still barred for more than two years from owning pets.

Larry Mason, 54, was convicted of three counts of animal cruelty after a jury trial in Bennington District Court in January 2007.

In February 2007, Mason was placed on probation for four years with conditions that included a prohibition against owning pets while he was on probation.

Public Defender Frederick Bragdon said that because Mason had done well on probation, he had applied for and been granted an early discharge.

However, Bragdon said Mason had agreed to accept the continuing condition that he not own animals until the end of the period for which he was placed on probation.

Bragdon said if Mason were found to own animals before February 2011, it would not be a violation of probation but contempt of court.

Reference:

The Bennington Banner

WTEN TV10

WMUR TV9

Argus Champion

The Eagle Times

CNN

The Rutland Herald