Legal Defense Fund for Carol Larocque

The purpose of this fundraiser is to support our good friend Carol Larocque's fight against an unjust charge of animal cruelty filed by someone who has, themselves, been charged with forty counts of animal cruelty.

On one of the hottest days of last summer, Carol discovered 40 dogs left inside a metal trailer at a local dog daycare kennel. The temperature inside the trailer was 96o and the dogs were packed inside metal cages, some 2-3 to a cage, without water or food. Several dogs were clearly in distress. The kennel owner was gone for the day, the animals left without supervision. Carol immediately notified police, the MSPCA and Animal Rescue League (ARL) and the dogs were removed from the property and transported to a nearby veterinary clinic.

Upon returning to the property late in the afternoon, the kennel owner was arrested and charged with forty counts of animal cruelty. Following her arraignment the following day, the kennel owner “suddenly” remembered an incident that had taken place over a year previously.

An abandoned dog was found in Bradley-Palmer State Park. As ACO, Carol picked up the dog and delivered it to the town-approved kennel for the mandatory hold period. It is worth noting the dog showed no signs of aggression or dominance with Carol. When the hold period passed, Carol prepared to take the dog to the MSPCA for hoped-for adoption. However, the kennel owner asked to keep the dog because she thought she could easily place it through her network of friends. Approximately a month later she called Carol in a state of panic stating the dog had turned vicious and was attempting to claw its way out of its cage, causing injury to the dog and posing a threat to human life. Carol and another ACO rushed to the kennel and found the dog inside a wire cage, snarling and growling with its hackles raised. The dog was trying to push its way through the top of the cage, with no regard to the pain of its gums being cut by the metal. The kennel owner claimed the dog had shown signs of aggression for a few days and had tried to attack people. After a telephone consultation with an area veterinarian, it became clear there was no safe option than to dispatch the dog before it could further injure itself or escape and attack a person. Because no vet was available and lacking other choices, the decision was made to shoot the dog in the head thus ending its misery without further suffering.

Following her arrest and later arraignment on the forty charges of animal cruelty, the kennel owner filed a claim of animal cruelty against Carol and the other ACO for having euthanized the vicious dog. She claimed the act left her traumatized and explained she had not come forward previously because she thought the two ACOs were doing what they thought was right.

As a result of the kennel owner’s malicious claim, Carol has been charged with one count of animal cruelty. She must now appear in court to defend her actions.

For over forty years Carol Larocque has served our community as an animal control officer. Those who know Carol, know of her extreme dedication to her job and her deep concern for the well-being of both animals and their human caretakers. Countless times she has left the warmth of her bed in the middle of the night to rescue an injured animal. When during a violent winter storm the roof of a cow shed collapsed, it was Carol who rushed to the rescue. When a dog was hit by a car and ran into an icy marsh it was Carol who waded through the ice to bring the dog to safety. Upon discovering that a local horse owner was struggling to afford hay, instead of reporting the owner for neglect, she donated hay from her own stock.

When Carol learned there were no hot meals for the needy on weekends, she began the Saturday Morning Community Breakfast. Later, she and her good friend, Nancy Burke began serving a hot meal to the needy on Sundays as well. Nine years ago, Carol founded the Greater Newbury Elder Pet Fund to assist needy pet owners. Weekly she delivers food from the First Parish Newbury Food Pantry to the homeless. We often joke that she cannot go to Dunkin Donuts without buying at least one needy person a cup of coffee. Whether responding to a dog hit by a car, a skunk caught in a window well or chasing a loose horse running down Route 1, Carol operates from a position of honesty, integrity and, most of all, compassion.

Because of all she has done for others in our community, and for her commitment to higher principles of integrity, honesty, and deep compassion, we have established this fund to help Carol with the costs associated with proving her innocence against the charge of animal cruelty.