TRENTON, Maine — Five of the 27 dogs that according to court documents were allegedly abused by Ellisha Krutuleski, owner of Coastal Dreams Rescue and Sancturay in Bucksport, are now being cared for at the SPCA of Hancock County.
"When they first came in we just gave them a little once over and let them settle down. We put covers up so they weren't too overstimulated by anything," Hancock County SPCA Front Desk Representative Mindy Wulf said.
Staff with the SPCA of Hancock County says the shelter took in the five dogs from the rescue nearly three weeks ago. Since then, one of their biggest focuses have been to steadily get them back to a healthy weight and used to a world where they don't have to worry about food insecurity.
"In cases where they haven't had too much food and they're a little bit too skinny we tend to give them more meals during the day and they're smaller meals so that way we're not overwhelming their stomachs," Wulf said.
Despite the dogs' alleged traumatic experience, Hancock County SPCA Development and Communications Coordinator Mariah Donovan says you would have a hard time seeing that based on their personalities.
"If you weren't looking at them and could see their physical bodies and were just interacting with them, they're so friendly and sweet and eager to be loved and give love," Donovan said.
Since getting more comfortable at the shelter, staff say the dogs have been letting some of their little quirks and personalities show.
"Each one of them has their own little distinctive personalities. When Miriam smiles, sometimes her lip gets stuck on her teeth. Some other ones just like to climb up on your lap and just lean into you. There's one that we have who jumps up and can actually lick my nose from the ground," Wulf said.
According to the shelter, many members of the community have been showing love to the dogs through things like toy and food donations and comments on their Facebook page. Owners and staff from local food truck Quietside Snacks even swung by Friday to give the dogs some freshly made hamburgers.
"My dogs are rescue dogs so I always want to help them out and understand dogs coming from a bad situation and just want to do what we can to keep them happy and advertise for them and give them a good home," Quietside Snacks owner Henry Helnke said.
With some much-needed food, love, and attention, Donovan says the dogs are getting back to their normal, playful selves.
"They're more comfortable, they're getting the right nutrients, so dogs like this are now acting like the two-year-old puppy they are," Donovan said.
If you're interested in adopting in one of these dogs, staff say you can visit the SPCA of Hancock County at 141 Bar Harbor Rd. anytime from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.