Judge orders man to forfeit dogs kept in former school bus

BENNINGTON, Vt. --A New Hampshire man found with 32 German shepherds in an old school bus last summer has been ordered to forfeit the animals because he couldn't properly care for them.

Larry Mason, 52, of Bridgewater, N.H., still faces animal cruelty charges and is due to go on trial next month.

Police discovered the dogs on July 18 when someone reported the unattended dogs on a school bus at a local diner. Mason told police he was in the process of moving to the western United States in hopes of finding a small town that needed a church minister.

Mason also told police his large collection of German shepherds had attracted the attention of New Hampshire authorities.

Shortly after he was charged, officials filed a civil motion asking a judge to order that Mason's ownership of the dogs be ended.

On Tuesday a judge granted the motion.

"The court finds that most of the dogs' coats were matted with a combination of feces and dirt with many of them having urine on their coats," wrote District Court Judge David Howard. "The condition of the bus was far beyond what even that number of dogs might cause for dirt and waste over a day or so. ... The bus was not clean, even when it is judged as a habitat for dogs."

The next step will be for the judge to turn over ownership of the dogs to the town animal control officer who can then find new homes for the animals.

Mason's criminal trial on the animal cruelty charges is due to start Dec. 8.