Affidavit details 10 years of animal incidents at Marion home

MARION — Dead chickens with their heads hanging out of cages. Scrawny Saint Bernard dogs chained in an outdoor pen containing soggy couches. Litters of feral kittens in a basement smelling of urine and mold. And so on.

A nine-page affidavit used to obtain the warrant to search Lauren Fisher’s Front Street property on Dec. 11 details the 51 animals that were removed from the property and years of observed maltreatment and neglect of dozens of animals. 

It lists efforts by multiple local authorities over 10 years to get Fisher to properly care for her dogs, cats, horses, chickens and other animals. 

The 65-year-old Fisher was arrested on Dec. 11 and charged with animal cruelty, interfering with an officer and resisting arrest. Her animals – those that survived – were taken into the custody of animal protection authorities.

Filed by Marion Police Detective Scott Smith, the affidavit relies on observations of officials who inspected the property after receiving complaints and on the testimony of two men who Fisher apparently paid to dispose of dead animals.

The affidavit notes that Fisher was charged with 48 counts of animal cruelty nearly 20 years ago after a resident at the property reported that he buried a Saint Bernard that had died of starvation and that he was “sick and tired” of Fisher’s mistreatment of animals. 

In that case, more than 80 animals were removed from the property, and Fisher’s six children were sent to live with relatives. 

Evidence suggesting that Fisher was again mistreating animals emerged as far back as 2009 when Police Lt. John Garcia, now Chief Garcia, was called to the property to deal with a loose cow. Garcia noted that the cow and a nearby horse appeared underfed, the horse to the point that ribs and hip bones were protruding -- and that the animals had no clean water. 

Most recently, trapper Deane Johansen informed Animal Control Officer Susan Connor that he had been removing dead animals from Fisher’s property.

On Dec. 9, Johansen reported having removed one rabbit carcass, three chicken carcasses from a coop made from a dog pen, ten chicken carcasses in a bucket, ten chicken carcasses and one duck carcass in a basket and two skeletonized chickens. 

Johansen said Fisher characterized one area of her property as “a dumping ground for dead animals.” 

He told Connor that, over the course of 2019, he had also removed dead pigs, adult and baby goats, ducks, guinea hens, rabbits, chickens, and a rooster. He said five or six of the dead rabbits were killed by Fisher’s dogs. 

In multiple investigations, it appeared that animals were kept in highly unsanitary conditions, or kept without visible food or water, with unclean drinking water, and with overflowing litterboxes. 

Garcia told Sippican Week that a misconception about this case is that Fisher was not allowed to own any animals at all in the wake of her 1999 arrest. He explained that any restrictions she faced would have ended with her probation.

As she does with other horse owners, Connor made scheduled barn inspections at Fisher’s property. These inspections did not grant her authority to search Fisher’s home.

In a report from an inspection on Oct. 25 of this year, Connor noted that some of the animals kept outside appeared to be in fair condition, although a mare and yearling horse’s enclosure was littered with debris. She also told Fisher that the two Saint. Bernards needed to be seen by a veterinarian, and that their kennel needed to be repaired to protect the dogs from the elements.

Fisher allowed Connor, Sgt. Derryl Lawrence and Massachusetts Special Police Lt. Alan Borgal to inspect a portion of the downstairs area of her home. In the inspection report, Borgal said “the house is not sanitary and has a high odor of urine and fecal type smell.”

He also found Fisher to be in violation of tethering and confinement laws for the way she sheltered the Saint Bernards.

No law enforcement action was taken in response to this inspection. Instead, Connor and town officials attempted to work with Fisher through her attorney to address the issues.

Fisher has also had various child abuse and neglect allegations brought against her throughout the years. 

In 2009, Officer Kevin Paulsen did a wellbeing check in on a child at Fisher’s property. He described living conditions at the time as “deplorable” and filed a child abuse and neglect claim. 

In 2017 Sergeant Jeffrey Tripp assisted emergency response workers from the Department of Child and Family Services after a child abuse claim was filed for three children at the residence. 

In describing the arrest in 2019, Garcia said that there was at least one child in residence, but refused to specify how many, their ages, or their relationship to Fisher.  

Board of Health Agent Karen Walega also filed reports to the state Department of Children and Families and Bristol County Elder Services sometime after Oct. 30 of this year because she was concerned about the state of the house. 

Fisher may face additional charges in this case. Her pre-trial hearing is set for Jan. 24. 

To view the full affidavit, see the attachment at the top of this story.