“If you love your pets, you don’t clear off on holiday & leave the poor things alone! If they don’t get a serious sentence & all the dogs taken from them, they will carry on abusing!! Laws have to change to stop this type of thing happening again…an Animal Abuse Registry could stop repeat offenders etc.”

By News Staff – Reporting by Kainani Stevens – kstevens@abc6.com

An Exeter couple appeared in court Wednesday facing 17 counts of animal abuse.

Accused of 17 Counts Of Animal Abuse & Neglect – Kathleen and Donald Perkins

Police say the couple went on a two-week vacation, leaving their dogs locked up at home, alone, without enough food or water. This is not the first run-in the pair have had with animal control.

Both Kathleen and Donald Perkins plead not guilty in court, accused of the 17 counts of abuse and neglect.  The Perkins’ operate Celie Kennels out of their Ten Rod Road home, breeding golden retrievers for over a decade, according to their website.

Last week, 10 golden retrievers, six papillons, and one cat were removed from the Exeter home after State Police received a call from a concerned neighbor. Animal Control responded and found the dogs in “unsafe” conditions.

“The dogs were in crates barely big enough for them, standing in urine and feces. Their paws were raw and they had little or no water,” said Sgt. David Bassignani of the Rhode Island State Police.

All the dogs and the cat are being housed at several shelters across the state and will remain there until the judge rules on the case. Several neighbors of the Perkins’ have contacted animal control in the past.

“We have in the past had calls made by concerned citizens about the living conditions of the animals,” said Dr. E. J. Finocchio, Director of the RISPCA. The pair are due back in court on January 13th.

News Link:–http://www.abc6.com/story/30769351/couple-pleads-not-guilty-to-17-counts-of-animal-abuse