Return Margaret Boisture’s Dogs & Drop All Charges Immediately

Please read all below and sign this petition today. We are asking that all of Margaret’s dogs be returned immediately and intact. And that all charges are dismissed immediately.

Almost two weeks ago we started following the story of the Star Mountain Portuguese Podengo Pequenos (P3) in Connecticut owned by Margaret Boisture. This is the case of a legally licensed kennel owner who is in the middle of moving and Bloomfield Connecticut Animal control officer Christine "Sparky" Sparks, who illegally showed up at her home to demand entry. When Sparky was turned away she filed for and was granted a warrant alleging abuse and neglect and claiming some crates were too small( mind you this was before she even saw one of the dogs or any of the crates or kenneling, so basically it appears she lied to get the warrant). Instead of following Connecticut Law and giving the owner 30 days to address the issues she removed many of the dogs from Margaret's house. These dogs were not abused or neglected, many of them are current competitive champions, and some were supposed to be leaving this week for Westminster Kennel Club dog show.
Let us reiterate that the owner of the kennel, this breeder has always been compliant and is currently compliant in the state of Connecticut.
Sparky was nice enough to leave a young litter of puppies and some older dogs with Margaret. This in itself makes the claims of abuse and neglect laughable. If Sparky were truly concerned she would have followed the law, done things properly and removed all the animals. Instead she took the most valuable ones, the ones that will definitely get a lot of attention in any future money raising endeavors. ACO Sparks has a long history of aligning herself with radical animal rights groups, and we can't help but wonder if this is just part of some deeper agends she has. You can read our first blog about her here https://www.p4pownership.com/apps/blog/show/47775872-who-really-needs-facts-anyway-?fbclid=IwAR314e4e8nnccTFRphn-H9T7Y_Tdp8reVMr8GlrpfyDM9IibW-wEmRFMvjs.
Why is ACO Christine Sparks being allowed to take the law into her own hands? Why does she seem to be pushing a narrative about breeders and show dogs? People who have been following us for a while may remember Paul Upton's dogs, and videos of their disgraceful temperament tests performed by the ASPCA. In those videos the evaluators were heard to say "you're not gonna be a show dog anymore" and other snarky anti breeder and show comments. If this is going to be the new norm truly no ones animals will be safe.

Original post from Margaret

Dear Friends,

As some of you may know, we are moving our location from Windsor to Bloomfield, CT. We have owned a farm there for several years and thought it would be the perfect place for the kennel to thrive. During our move, my dogs were seized. I have still not recovered them and fear for their health and well being.

I breed and show purebred Portuguese Podengo Pequenos. I have done so for more than ten years; it is my passion. Many of my dogs are champions and grand champions. In most years one or more of my dogs rank in the top ten in the breed in the American Kennel Club rankings. The notion that I would neglect the health and safety of any of these dogs is patently absurd.

I care for the wellbeing of my dogs scrupulously. We are currently moving them from their previous kennel at (and in) our home to a new kennel at our farm, ten minutes from the house. In early February, we will also move our residence to the farm (after the current tenants vacate the farmhouse). At the farm, the dogs are housed in a modern 2,000 sq.ft. building with washable walls, concrete floors with floor drains, central HVAC (including radiant heat in the floors), good lighting, hot and cold water, washer and dryer, and kitchen for food preparation. They are exercised outside morning and evening during cold weather and kept inside the rest of the day and night, in large, open-web crates that allow them to stand up, turn around, and lay down. Each morning and evening, we clean their crates (they are dogs and sometimes they make a mess!) and, if needed, provide fresh towels for them to sleep on. We also tend to their quarters and other needs, washing floors, cleaning food bowls, providing fresh water, grooming them, and feeding them. In warmer weather, they have outside runs, including doghouses in which they can shelter if it rains. In a recent inspection by the American Kennel Club, my kennel operation received the highest marks, with no negative comments.

I also care diligently for their health. The same veterinarians have cared for my dogs for years and can attest unequivocally to the level of care that they and I provide. My kennel assistant is a veterinary technician in training and can give the same unconditional account. All of my dogs were in good health when they were seized on January 24th.

I am very selective in my breeding program, striving to produce puppies that meet the highest standards for this energetic, robust, and ancient breed of hunting hounds. In recent years I have whelped four or five litters each year out of careful matches; I have studied the genetics of this breed and use that information to avoid congenital problems (which are thankfully few in the breed). I keep the puppies of highest promise for my pack, place others of high promise with other reputable breeders or breed enthusiasts in reciprocal arrangements, and place the others carefully in pet homes. I use the Puppy Culture program to raise my puppies from birth. In most cases the puppies are with me 10 to 12 weeks and of course never leave before 8 weeks. My dogs have done very well as show dogs, in agility competitions, as therapy dogs, and as wonderful friends and companions to their owners. I am an American Kennel Club Bronze-Level Breeder of Merit.

On a noise complaint, the ACO wanted a tour of my facility on the morning of January 24th. I politely declined. She put a police officer on my property with orders to prevent my morning chores, then got a search warrant on a false complaint that my dogs are left out overnight. (NEVER have we left an animal out overnight.) I invite you to watch the videos I have posted on Youtube (links below). Some I took on Jan 3 and 5th of the kennel before moving in. One I took on the 6th, the day we moved in.

I am writing this to all of you to inform you that I might be in the news shortly. In addition to the above travails, I have been threatened by the town attorney with arrest (without mention of what the charge might be). Also, I am sending this as a reminder that this can happen to anyone of you!!! Be careful and stand up and fight. There is a war on our rights! Stand up and fight.

Three videos I made of our set up.
BEFORE

https://youtu.be/IhPucifNo9g
https://youtu.be/fqSJUw-nQN0
https://youtu.be/NwUdbGORif8

Margaret Boisture
AKC BRONZE Breeder of Merit
A Preservation Breeder Advocating for Portuguese Podengo Pequenos and all Purebred Dogs.

Civil Case: http://civilinquiry.jud.ct.gov/CaseDetail/PublicCaseDetail.aspx?DocketNo=HHDCV206124001S

Please sign today and help her get her dogs back and have all charges dismissed. Let’s stop the AR from being able to do this to anyone!