To the editor:
My husband, Mark, and I adopted a rescue dog on February 24 – 13 days before his death. Our dog, Jed, was the victim in the animal cruelty case at Pearly Pond Pet Salon in Rindge. With the pretrial scheduled for June 20, we were shocked to learn the case had been settled.
Although Jed’s injuries were clearly documented in the necropsy report submitted by Heather Sawyer, DVM, Fieldstone Animal Hospital; pathology test results provided by Jeremy Tobias, DVM, IDEXX Pathology; and the investigation by Officer Rachel Malynowski, Rindge Police Department, a deal was made on the QT between prosecutor Vint Boggis and Pearly Pond Pet Salon owner Andrea O’Connor. Her sentence of “good behavior” for one year is no sentence at all. Are we not all expected to have good behavior for the upcoming year?
What were the consequences for her bad behavior on March 8? To add salt to Jed’s wounds — the charge will be completely dismissed in one year as though it never happened!
Prosecutor Boggis, please explain this added perk to the 2-year-old dog buried in our backyard. Setting aside the rights of the dog, doesn’t the consumer have the right to know the groomer they choose may have had an animal cruelty charge? Jed deserved his day in court. As his owners and advocates, we should have been contacted by the prosecutor to discuss this case and certainly before a settlement was made. Andrea O’Connor’s agreement of “good behavior” followed by a dismissal is in no way recompense for Jed’s death; neither is the check for $350 sent to us days after his death to cover his adoption fee. We never wanted, nor asked, for any money. In fact, the check was never cashed. What we wanted, and expected, was justice for Jed.
Pam Forrest
Rindge