By Fay Abrahamsson
Published on 1/19/2006

Clinton, CT - Their once soft fur was caked with feces and urine while they stood motionless, unable to move in the tiny dog crate.

"It is the worst case of animal cruelty I have seen," said Clinton's municipal animal control officer Donna Cavanaugh.

Four Rottweiler puppies, along with seven adult dogs of the same breed, were taken from the rented 107 Long Hill Road room of breeder Marion Lent. The four puppies were crammed into a too-small crate, unable to move, locked in with their own waste with no food or water.

A deceased adult Rottweiler, who Cavanaugh described as "just skin and bones" was removed from the property and sent to the University of Connecticut's animal laboratory for a necropsy (similar to an autopsy) for cause of death."