Hebron woman set to face a judge in animal cruelty case where more than 50 animals were removed from a home

By Marcy Jones, Rob Polansky

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    ROCKVILLE, Connecticut (WFSB) — A woman from Hebron who faces multiple charges in an animal cruelty case is expected to appear in Rockville Superior Court on Monday morning.

Authorities said they removed more than 50 animals from Joann Connelly’s home last week.

They said Connelly had been operating the CT Pregnant Dog and Cat Rescue.

Now, she faces three charges of animal cruelty.

According to the state Animal Control Division, Connelly and her rescue had been on its radar for some time. It said it received several complaints; however, it couldn’t go inside until last week.

Officials said the Department of Children and Families requested assistance after receiving information that the owner had moved and left a large number of animals behind. Channel 3 received pictures from inside the rescue.

A local woman told Eyewitness News about what she called her upsetting experience of fostering animals from the rescue. She said after she was given puppies with extreme medical needs, she returned them to Connelly and urged her to take them to a vet. She said Connelly refused, and days later she learned they had all died.

“To know that we had a part in saving those puppies and saving her, but only to die from distemper because of everything that happened was just, it was heartbreaking,” said Lauri Weber of Glastonbury.

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