BRUNSWICK, Maine — Nearly 30 dogs seized from a River Road home in August after the owners were charged with cruelty to animals will be available for adoption Saturday at Midcoast Humane Society.
Following a possession hearing on Friday in Portland District Court, the remainder of the 44 dogs seized were returned to the owners, Robert and Nancy Enman.
Robert Enman, Nancy Enman, Kyle Enman and Diane Enman were charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty, failing to give animals necessary sustenance, failing to give animals necessary medical attention, failing to give animals proper indoor shelter and failing to give animals humanely clean conditions, Brunswick police Lt. Martin Rinaldi said in August.
On Aug. 10, Brunswick police, the state veterinarian, animal control officers and Midcoast Humane officials seized 44 small- and large-breed dogs from the home owned by Robert and Nancy Enman.
Police said the dogs were living in cages stacked three or four high, with some of the cages “full of dogs.”
The dogs were being advertised locally as “small designer breeds” with a sale price of $500, Brunswick police Officer Kerry Wolongevicz said at the time.
The home was condemned that day by the town’s health officer, Deputy Chief Jeff Emerson of the Brunswick Fire Department.
Police subsequently returned to the home and seized goats that “weren’t getting enough food and water,” Brunswick Police Cmdr. Mark Waltz said at the time.
Rinaldi said that at least one dog died after being seized.
Nearly 30 of the dogs — which appear to be mostly young to middle-aged small breeds weighing less than 20 pounds resembling Chihuahua, West Highland terrier, Australian shepherd and Pomeranian mixes — will be available for adoption Saturday, according to the humane society.
The remainder were returned to the Enmans after Emerson deemed their home to be habitable, Rinaldi said.
Mandie Wehr, director of shelter operations at Midcoast Humane, treated and documented the dogs’ cases.
“The dogs arrived with matted coats, dental disease and overgrown nails,” she said in a release. “Several were underweight. One of the dogs was pregnant and gave birth soon after her arrival.”
“Most of the dogs have been friendly and very sweet,” she said. “Some are scared, some are super social, some just want to be out of a kennel and play, while others just want to be with people. These guys have spent their lives in cages. From life in a cage to an extended period of quarantine with our shelter, they are ready to go home.”
Criminal cases against the Enmans are still pending, Rinaldi said.
Tamara Getchell, spokeswoman for the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office, said her office had not received a copy of the civil order issued Friday.
“The criminal cases are under review for the number of charges that will be brought against each defendant when we file charging instruments with the court,” she wrote in an email to the Bangor Daily News.
Wehr said the cost of caring for the dogs is nearing $30,000.
“This has been one of the more stressful experiences holding this many animals for such a long time in a kennel facility,” Wehr said. “Holding animals for unknown lengths of time as ‘living evidence’ is heartbreaking to watch and a hard experience for all of our staff, not to mention stressful for the animals. In situations like this, animals can be stuck in limbo for months while the courts process the case.”
The dogs go up for adoption at noon Saturday at Midcoast Humane at 30 Range Road in Brunswick.