New Haven Register| By Mark Zaretsky | February 11, 2025 |
CHESHIRE — Residents upset about the treatment of more than 30 dogs left at the Cheshire Animal Control shelter for two years while the town was in court with the owner heard from the Town Council chairman Tuesday that the town has begun a formal investigation.
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Town Council Chairman Peter Talbot, D-at-large, told more than 40 people in the audience — 22 of which had earlier held a rally in front of Town Hall calling for the town to terminate its animal control officer, April Leiler, and her police supervisor, Lt. Donald Miller — that recent legal developments freed the town up to open the investigation.
"The Cheshire Town Council has since late last year been contemplating a full investigation" but was prevented from doing so "due to ongoing litigation in both Superior and Bankruptcy court," said Talbot, who as chairman also acts as appointed mayor.
The defendant's withdrawal of her litigation at the end of January freed the town to initiate the investigation, Talbot said.
"To insure the integrity of this investigation, we will have no comment until this investigation is completed," he said.
He told the crowd that virtually every member of the council is a dog owner and an animal lover, but "we have been forced to be silent in the face of social media and verbal attacks." In addition, "we do not discuss personnel matters in public."
At least 15 people from Cheshire, neighboring towns and from Desmond's Army Animal Law Advocates spoke during the public comment session at the start of the council meeting, laying out the problems at the shelter in gritty detail.
"It is abundantly clear that Leiler committed wrongdoing," said Desmond's Army co-founder and President Zilla Cannamela of Winsted. "...I am again requesting that your agencies take action as mandated by law."
She said the deaths of two of the dogs who were at the shelter cannot be in vain.
"Justice must be served," said Desmond's Army Vice President Linda Pleva. "This blatant cruelty ... merits criminal charges."
Animal advocate Lori Russo of Berlin said that "Tiny," one of the two dogs that died, did so after "he was left in conditions that no animal should ever endure."
Cheshire resident Maura Murcko said that police "did a wonderful thing" by taking the dogs out of an abusive and neglectful situation in October 2022, but things declined over time.
"This was an extraordinary situation," Murcko said. "These creatures suffered needlessly."
Before the meeting began, many of those who spoke attended a rally on both sides of South Main Street in front of City Hall, chanting "No more lies! ATO must go!" and holding signs. One sign read, "This is not OK." The sign also had photos of some of the dogs after they had been in the care of the town's animal control shelter.
"I'm here because our (animal control officer) must go!" said Cheshire resident Lori Barnes. "They can change procedures, but she's been here for 27 years. This is her work, so she needs to go."
Barnes said, "I'm glad that the procedures are now being done that should have been done. But she needs to go ... The trust is gone."
Jeen Melendez of Cheshire, one of the leaders of the group calling for change said, "We just want them to do what they did before. If you think there's abuse, you should investigate it."
Lorraine Sarno of Wallingford said she came out because "I just want justice for these dogs. This animal control officer needs to be fired. She needs to pay for what she's done."
A few at the rally came from farther afield.
"I'm here for the animals," said Andrea Kerin of Fairfield. "These animals came in in much better shape than they left."
Residents have collected more than 2,000 signatures calling for the ouster of the town's animal control officer; 2,064 as of Tuesday night.
The activists, many of them members of the "Advocacy For the Dogs at Cheshire Animal Shelter for Over Two Years" Facebook group, said they were hoping to have their voices heard prior to Tuesday's meeting.
"We are really hopeful for tonight. Things have changed," said Jeen Melendez,
administrator of the Facebook group. "They withdrew their case against the original owners ... which means the ban on talking and releasing records is gone. So I'm hopeful that they do not want to continue producing this sanitized story that they didn't know anything."
"They should partner with us going forward," Melendez added. "We're not here just to shine a light on the issues. We want to fix it."
The town, which was cited by the state Department of Agriculture for problems at the shelter in December, already has agreed to make changes.
"We expect a comprehensive investigation," Melendez said. "I'm expecting them to look at their own evidence."
The group has called for the removal of Leiler, the town's animal control officer, as well as her supervisor.
"April Leiler has been an ACO for 27 years ... It's really inconceivable that you'd have to instruct someone like that in the proper procedures," Melendez said. "Statutes with lists of proper procedures exist. No one followed them. That's April's issue."
Leiler did not return requests for comment.
Talbot said prior to the meeting that "there's nothing on the agenda" concerning the animal control facility but that he planned to make a statement at the start of the meeting.
The petition, which is signed both by Cheshire residents and non-residents, calls for "accountability and change at the Cheshire, Connecticut animal pound."
Of the signatories as of Tuesday morning, 161 were from Cheshire. Many of those who signed were from surrounding Connecticut communities. But there also were people who gave addresses in Miami, Atlanta, Chicago and California, plus three in Brazil, four in Spain, eight in Canada, 18 in Germany and 20 in France.
The petition cited the state Department of Agriculture's investigation, which found in late December that the animal shelter violated six regulations and statutes since seizing the dogs. Town officials agreed to a consent order to remedy outstanding issues, the department said.
The violations included dogs kept in cages that did not meet minimum size requirements during cleaning, there was evidence of a mouse infestation in the shelter, animals were not properly groomed and the shelter failed to provide necessary veterinary care, according to the consent order.
The town's shelter was found to still be in violation of regulations governing pens and runs, dog pound structure requirements and sufficient isolation areas, according to the order.
"Despite this, no meaningful action has been taken to address these issues or hold those responsible accountable," the petition reads.
The online petition also calls out failed oversight from her supervisor, Lt. Donald Miller, and "inaction from town leadership," including Town Manager Sean Kimball, Talbot and the rest of the Town Council.
The petitions calls for "immediate removal of ACO April Leiler," as well as Lt. Miller, and "transparency from town leadership," plus "implementation of reforms."
"We urge the governing body of the Town of Cheshire to act now to restore trust in its public offices and ensure humane treatment for all animals in its care," the petition reads.
Residents previously held rallies and addressed the Town Council on Dec. 10 and Jan. 14, after the town adopted out the remaining 23 dogs that had been in the town's custody.
Two of the dogs originally brought to Cheshire Animal Control were later euthanized, Police Chief Neil Dryfe said in November.
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