After Neglect & Abandonment, Rescued Dogs Are Recovering

COVENTRY, RI — Complaints about dogs barking all night long in the Exeter woods led to the rescue of 11 animals and one arrest. State police and animal control officers from Exeter and Coventry on Saturday night went to two different locations and took the dogs in from the cold. The dogs, all pit bulls, had been left outdoors without shelter, food or clean water. Some were in the woods. One dog was found in a truck.

All 11 dogs are now recovering, said Exeter animal control.

According to the Coventry police, just before midnight Saturday, state police called the Coventry animal control officer for help. They had located dogs being kept "in poor conditions" at 525 Hill Farm Road. That's where one dog was also found in a truck. All told, Coventry animal control picked up eight dogs and drove them to the emergency veterinary hospital. They arrived around 1 a.m. The entire rescue took about an hour.

Meanwhile, three other dogs were picked up in Exeter at a site "under construction," the Exeter animal control officer said. State police and all three Exeter animal control officers were involved in that rescue at 320 Stony Lane.

On Sunday at 10:15 p.m., Troopers arrested the owner, Eugene McQuade, 35, of East Greenwich. He is charged with these offenses: 1.) Unnecessary Cruelty to Animals (11 Counts); 2.) Mistreatment of Animals (11 Counts); and 3.) Abandonment of Animals (1 Count). He was arraigned and released. McQuade is due in court on Jan. 31.

According to Laura Meade Kirk, state police spokeswoman, "the arrest stemmed from an investigation by troopers at the Wickford Barracks into complaints by animal control officers at the Exeter Animal Shelter about dogs being left outside during the frigid temperatures. They found several animals living in squalid conditions at two properties owned by McQuade. Three pitbulls were recovered from his property at 320 Stony Lane, Exeter, and eight more were recovered from his property at 525 Hill Farm Road in Coventry. " She confirmed one of the dogs was found in a truck in Coventry."

The state police were called because Exeter does not have a police department, the Exeter animal control officer said. The state police are taking the lead in the Coventry investigation, too, Coventry police Lt. Matthew Blair said. "We do have a police report documenting some of the ACO findings that is not yet complete," but the state police will act as the lead agency.

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