Brenda Coggin, owner of Coggin Creek Stables, said not only is she heartbroken about losing her dogs, but by the thought that there are people who think she played a role in their deaths. Watch video
State and local officials are investigating the possibility that a kennel owner’s nine personal dogs died of Freon poisoning at Coggin Creek Stable in Westfield, shown here in a file photo.WESTFIELD – State and local officials are investigating the possibility that a kennel owner’s nine personal dogs died of Freon poisoning Tuesday night when an air conditioning unit malfunctioned and emitted a toxic mist that caused the dogs to bleed to death.
“It was just a horrible accident,” said Brenda Coggin, owner of Coggin Creek Stables on Granville Road. “They died an absolutely horrendous death.”
Coggin said she put her American Kennel Club-registered Australian shepherd show dogs in the kennel at about 10:30 p.m., and when she went back several hours later to place another one of her dogs there she found the one male and eight females dead after apparently bleeding through their noses.
“They were very happy when I put them in there,” she said, her voice breaking with emotion. “I’m just devastated.”
The dogs, Coggin added, ranged in age from just under 2 years to nearly 9, and she did not carry any insurance on them resulting in a significant monetary loss for her as well.
“I spent $8,000 on one saving her life,” she said. “I have no insurance, and I can’t recoup any of this.”
Coggin said that an official from the state Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) arrived at the kennel on the next day, wrapped the air conditioning unit and took it with him as part of the investigation.
Westfield Animal Control Operations Manager Kenneth E. Frazer said Coggin did nothing wrong by burying her dogs on her property Wednesday night, but she is in violation of running an unlicensed kennel, which could carry a penalty of $50 per day in city ordinance violations per dog for each day a dog was boarded in the kennel. Other than that, he said Coggin has a good reputation for taking excellent care of animals.
“The dogs were well cared for,” he said. “There was no neglect – you can ask anyone who got a dog from her. She took good care of her dogs. She does have to have a permit, but no state law was violated.”
Frazer said he learned of the incident from all the media attention it received after someone anonymously contacted multiple media outlets informing them of the dog deaths and burials.
“They never contacted me,” he said.
Coggin said not only is she heartbroken about losing her dogs, but by the thought that there are people who think she played a role in their deaths.
“It kills me to think that anyone would think that I would have anything to do with this.”
Frazer said he and state officials are continuing the investigation into the cause of the deaths and will release the information when it becomes available.
“We’re getting all the facts now – what happened, how it happened, what caused it,” he said.
Coggin Stables, located at 1008 Granville Road, boards horses and provides equestrian lessons and training, according to its website.