Horrific 21 dog deaths in Argyle

By Ben Westcott, Chronicle Staff Writer

Town of Argyle Dog Control Officer Nancy Quell was one of the first to arrive at Anastasia’s Acres Dog Boarding in Argyle after 21 dogs died overnight Aug. 23-24 when the facility’s owners allegedly failed to provide adequate water and ventilation for the animals.

“From my point of view, it was horrendous,” Ms. Quell told The Chronicle. “I’m still struggling today with it. I’m still struggling with what I saw. I go to bed at night and I can’t get the images out of my head.”

She said she received the call from Anastasia’s Acres owner Anastasia Palulis at 8:31 a.m. on Sunday, informing her that there were dead dogs at her boarding facility. “She sounded very upset,” Ms. Quell recalled.

Arriving on scene, Ms. Quell said, “It was very heart wrenching. I’m used to dealing with animal cruelty cases, not going to a scene where there are multiple deceased animals that actually belong to somebody else.”

Then she was tasked with telling families that their dog had died.

“Trying not to show emotion was very hard,” she said. “At the end of the day, I am human, and I could feel their pain, I could feel their grief.

“You go away, you’re leaving your dog, whether it be for the night or the week or just a few days, and to get that phone call or show up on scene and be told that your dog is now deceased is not something that should have to be done by anybody.”

“One family had only left the dog there for the night. They were going to the Tractor Pull. Other people went away for the weekend, and others had gone away for a week vacation to visit family.”

Ms. Quell said the smallest dog that died was a Corgi and the largest a German Shepherd. The one dog that survived was a Great Dane because “he wasn’t in a kennel. He was loose in the building.”

“Throughout the day I was thinking I wish I just had a magic wand so I could make it all go away for the people, and for all of us that were involved on scene.”

Asked how she copes with the tragedy personally, Ms. Quell replied, “I’m really not. It’s very hard. I take one day at a time. It’s very hard to unsee what I saw.

“I do dog control because I love animals, and I’ve been doing it for a while. It’s a rough situation, and it’s very hard. ‘I’m sorry’ just doesn’t seem like enough to say to people.”

Ms. Quell owns a shelter herself. She says that when it comes to boarding facilities, “I think the laws need to be tougher.”

“I have to follow state guidelines,” she said. “Our facility gets inspected. Yet boarding facilities don’t have to do anything. And I don’t feel that’s proper.

“Even rescue groups have to follow guidelines of what they’re allowed to do and not do, but boarding facilities are not, and at this point, I think it should change.”

“I’m not going to let this rest,” Ms. Quell added. “I’ve talked to a few of my supervisors and have asked if I can come and speak to the boards and try to get this changed.”

In the meantime, she says, “My sympathy is with the families for their loss of their dogs. They have my deepest condolences, because it was a tragedy.”

Court documents obtained by NewsChannel 13’s Mark Mulholland quoted Anastasia Palulis (38), who owns the facility with Robert Palulis (48), telling police “that it appeared that she forgot to turn on the air conditioner” overnight.

The documents Mr. Mulholland obtained allege that the owners left all the dogs in an insufficient-sized kennel with no access to water for about 11 hours.

The next morning, Mrs. Palulis was quoted allegedly telling police, “I went out to the boarding cottage at about 8 a.m. to let the canines out for the day. I discovered the inside of the cottage was extremely hot and wet, and the canines inside were all deceased, except the loose Great Dane Hank.”

NewsChannel 13 said the Great Dane is home with his owner after being treated at Northway Animal Emergency Clinic.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office said Mr. and Mrs. Palulis are charged with “22 counts of section 353 of the New York State Agriculture and Markets Law (Overdriving, Torturing, and Injuring Animals; Failure to Provide Proper Sustenance), class A Misdemeanors.”

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