Kennel Director Accused Of Cruelty

W.Va. Woman Worked With Loudoun Stores

A West Virginia woman who arranged adoptions for hundreds of dogs at several Loudoun County pet stores and a local veterinary clinic has been charged with animal cruelty.

Animal control officials in Berkeley County, W.Va., charged Mara Spade, 61, on Wednesday with keeping 149 dogs in inhumane conditions at Second Chance, the nonprofit animal shelter she operated near Harlan Spring Road there. Spade allegedly kept 60 to 80 of the dogs confined together with only two bowls of water and insufficient food, said Berkeley County animal control officer Donna McMahan. A search of the property last month revealed that conditions at Spade's kennel were so bad that many of the dogs were malnourished and in poor health, McMahan said.

"It was disgusting," McMahan said. "I was appalled by anyone calling themselves a rescuer and keeping those animals like that."

Spade's attorney, Paul Taylor, said his client, who was released on $2,000 bond, has done nothing wrong. She paid for the dogs' care out of her pocket to keep them from being euthanized, he said.

"There's no abuse. She may be a little overwhelmed, but she is not a cruel person by any definition," Taylor said. "I think it would devastate her if she was forced to shut down the shelter."

Loudoun authorities said Spade, of Inwood, W.Va., charged people $200 to $500 to adopt the dogs and arranged the adoptions through deals with several Loudoun PetSmart and Petco stores and a local veterinary clinic.

Loudoun County Department of Animal Care and Control director Thomas Koenig said his agency had received nine complaints about Spade and the dogs since 2003. All but one complaint was resolved without incident. Last month, a Loudoun animal control officer issued Spade a written warning in Leesburg after several dogs were left unattended in a closed van that she used to transport the animals, authorities said.

Koenig said no charges are pending against Spade in Loudoun.

"We've received complaints about her. We've responded to them, and she's gotten herself into compliance," Koenig said.

McMahan said her agency had tried for several years to inspect Spade's property but received a search warrant only in June. The search revealed that many of the dogs suffered from worms, malnutrition and infections, she said. Several had festering bite marks and puncture wounds.

If found guilty of the animal cruelty charge in Berkeley, Spade could be sentenced to up to six months in jail, be fined up to $2,000, or both. Berkeley County authorities said Friday that the investigation into Spade's animal shelter is ongoing.

A Berkeley County magistrate ordered county animal control officials to take custody of the dogs. Most are being housed at the county shelter, and some local families have also agreed to take dogs in temporarily, McMahan said. There is no plan to euthanize any of the dogs, and animal control officials hope they'll be adopted.

"Most of them are pretty good dogs as far as their temperament and demeanor," McMahan said.