One Sister, Now Another Arrested On Animal Abuse Charges In Stamford

While at an appearance Tuesday at the Stamford courthouse for causing a ruckus in the courtroom when her sister was arraigned in December, Debra Tandet, 55, was taken into custody and charged with four counts of accessory to animal cruelty and quickly released after posting a $15,000 bond. According to police, the charges came after a four-month investigation following a neighbor’s complaint in August about two adult dogs and two puppies barking overnight on the sister’s property. Following up on the complaint, police found two adult English sheep dogs tied to a tree and two puppies in an “extremely dirty” outdoor pen, police said at the time. The guardian, Kristan Exner, is a 9/11 survivor, an immigration attorney and founder of a Danbury group called Tails of Courage, which trains therapy dogs for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.