Bone and Bark Inn, a commercial dog kennel at 15 Cannon Rd., was shut down by the state for operating without a license on Jan. 9, 2025. Investigators also cited poor conditions on the kennel’s premises and items that “put dogs at risk of injury.”
Despite the closure — and reportedly telling state officials that he was selling the business and moving to Maine — the owner and his wife are still soliciting for business via email and said they plan to stay in town and remain open.
In a separate incident, Erasmo L. Farinas, 52, co-owner of Bone and Bark Inn, was arrested last month after two of his own dogs got loose from his Belden Hill Rd. home on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, and attacked and bit a father who was with his children on the playground at Miller-Driscoll School, according to police.
In April 2024, the same two dogs attacked a woman walking on Belden Hill Rd., also sending her to the hospital, according to police, which additionally led to Farinas being charged.
Business Complaints and Operating Without a License
GOOD Morning Wilton obtained detailed reports from the Department of Agriculture, which oversees commercial kennels in Connecticut, about the state’s investigation into Bone and Bark Inn. The report outlines several interactions between inspectors with the department’s Animal Control Division and Bone and Bark Inn.
Following a complaint from an anonymous Bone and Bark Inn client that the facility was unlicensed, state Animal Control Officer Mary Santagata reported that on Dec. 10 she issued an infraction to Farinas for operating without a license, fining him $200.
Despite the violation, she wrote, “Officer Chris Muir of Wilton Animal Control confirmed they were still operating on Dec. 27, 2024.”
While it was confirmed that Farinas had paid the infraction, there was still no record of a license having been obtained. In addition, on Jan. 3, 2025, the division received another phone call complaint from a Bone and Bark Inn former client, this time reporting animal neglect.
According to Santagata’s report, the person complained that “The owner, Erasmo Farinas, does not check or keep immunization records on file, does not allow pet owners inside the facility, allows intact males and females together, and does not maintain a clean facility. She reported that her dog has returned from the facility physically dirty and with a significant odor.”
[Editor’s note: Wilton Police said previously that they had not received any complaints about the business itself.]
After notifying the Dept. of Agriculture legal counsel and her bureau director, Santagata and Chief State Animal Control Officer Kelli Baker came to Wilton and visited the Bone and Bark Inn on Jan. 9, 2025.
Santagata wrote that she and Baker met Farinas on the property.
“Farinas was hesitant to let us inside,” she wrote, “however, [he] ended up doing it. Farinas reported he is selling the business and is moving to Maine. Farinas stated he has a buyer for the business. Farinas was told that he needed to tell the buyer that the business is not licensed. Farinas stated that he was not aware that he had to get a license, and he would work on getting one.”
The report pointed out that the website for Bone and Bark Inn has identified the facility as a “state-licensed doggie retreat” and that the business has been operating since 2018.
After conducting a walkthrough, Santagata wrote that she and Baker “found many problems that would not allow this business to be licensed,” including damaged fencing and benches, door frames and flooring that were damaged and not impervious in many sections, stairs with carpeting and “wood flooring in many sections was coming up and destroyed,” and damaged dog cages “that made the dogs at risk of injury.”
“Farinas was advised that he would need to shut down to provide the updates and get licensed,” she wrote. “Farinas was issued an infraction 22-344(g) for operating without a license.”
Two Separate Dog Attacks
According to Wilton police, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, Farinas’ dogs — one a pit bull and the other a pit bull mix — attacked a Wilton man who was with his children at the Miller-Driscoll playground, teaching his son to rollerblade.
“He was bitten on his legs and transported to Norwalk Hospital due to the injuries, described as a laceration to the back of his thigh, and several scratch marks and puncture wounds on his legs,” according to Lt. Anna Tornello, Wilton Police Department‘s public information officer.
“Police responded to the location of the incident,” she said, “along with EMS.”
The attack was reportedly the second time in seven months that the same two dogs bit an individual. In April 2024, according to Muir, they escaped from the Farinases’ property and bit a person walking on Belden Hill Rd.
Santagata’s report noted that she was told by Muir that the victim in the first incident, a woman, was transported to Norwalk Hospital with multiple bites.
At the time, “Erasmo Farinas was charged with two counts of Nuisance Dog, 22-363 of the Connecticut General Statutes in April,” he said.
“The dogs were quarantined on both occasions to monitor for the rabies virus,” he said, in this most recent case at the town’s animal shelter.
According to Wilton Deputy Chief Rob Cipolla, several factors were considered in determining whether to issue a ‘disposal order’ once the dogs were taken into custody by Wilton’s animal control. Under CT General Statue 22-358, the animal control officer considers “the ability of the owner or keeper of the dog to control the animal, the severity of the injury inflicted, the viciousness of the bite attack, the history of past bites or attacks by the dog, whether it occurred at the location or off property, whether it was provoked, and whether it was a situation where you could say that the dog was protecting its owner,” Cipolla said.
“When Chris did his investigation and he considered these factors, all of them pointed to that this would be a situation to warrant issuing a disposal order. So he did that on Dec. 3, 2024,” Cipolla said.
Muir informed state officials of the incident and the disposal order. Santagata reported that as of the November incident, the dogs were not licensed and were not up to date on rabies vaccines. As a result, the victim of the second attack received rabies treatment.
In cases where dogs are set to be destroyed, Cipolla said dog owners have an opportunity to appeal to the department “to speak with us and make their case, of any mitigating factors, and then we make a determination whether there should be modifications to the order.” While Cipolla said the process is confidential and he could not comment on whether the Farinases did appeal the decision, “in this situation, there were no modifications, so the disposal orders remain.”
That decision was made on Dec. 18, and the owners have 45 days to dispute the disposal orders in State Superior Court before the disposal orders are carried out. Cipolla said he has not received any notice of a court filing, and the dogs remain in the custody of Wilton Animal Control.
Cipolla said the decision was made with public safety in mind.
“it’s not something that we take lightly. But our ultimate goal is public safety. And when we look at the factors that we consider statutorily in these dog bite situations, we believe this is in the best interest of public safety to prevent any future attacks,” he said.
Muir’s month-long investigation culminated in Farinas’ arrest on Dec. 23, 2024. Farinas was charged with two counts of possessing a vicious/barking dog, two counts of allowing a vicious dog to roam, two counts of failure to comply with dog ownership requirements, and one count of not having the required rabies vaccination for his dog.
Farinas’ case was continued to Feb. 27 by Stamford Court.
How the Farinases Have Responded
On Jan. 10, 2025, Erasmo and Maria Farinas emailed a message to customers stating that the Bone and Bark Inn was “in need of some TLC” and would be suspending its daycare operation for the next three weeks, making no mention of the state having closed them for not having a license.
“We are hoping to have it done before that,” the email said, noting that walking services would still be available for clients who have already purchased packages.
“Thank you as always for ALL of your support and patience, we are very excited to make the ‘Inn’ even better for all of you!” the message said.
On Jan. 20, 2025, the owners of the Bone and Bark Inn sent out another promotional email offer to customers for both the February and April school breaks.
“Pay in full for either stay and receive ONE FREE night,” it states. “There is still room at the Inn for both breaks.” Again, there was no mention of the state licensing issue.
When GOOD Morning Wilton reached out on Friday, Jan. 24 to ask for comment, Erasmo Farinas was initially defensive.
“Your information sounds much more like rumors than facts,” he wrote in a text message.
“Moving to Maine and selling the business are rumors, not sure how you are claiming to have gotten those from a police report or Animal Control,” he wrote. [Editor’s note: the state reports with this information appear at the end of this article.]
“We are working with the state on improvements and some requirements for that department and are planning on reopening and doing business as usual,” he wrote.
Farinas did not comment on the incidents with his own two dogs.
“One incident has nothing to do with the other and should not be confused,” Farinas wrote in a text message. “This is a legal matter and we are not able to discuss it until the matter is settled.”
GOOD Morning Wilton notified the Farinases on Friday that we would give the couple additional time until Monday, Jan. 27 to comment and delay publishing this story until Tuesday, Jan. 26.
At approximately 5 p.m. on Monday, Bone and Bark customers received an email from the Farinases, downplaying the situation and striving to put customers’ “minds at ease.”
A few minutes later, rather than directly answering GMW‘s questions that had been submitted to them, Maria Farinas forwarded the same email that she sent out to customers earlier in the day as their “statement.”
“The Inn is temporarily closed as we address a licensing snafu,” the email said. “We are in the process of working closely with the Town of Wilton and the State Department of Agriculture to remedy this as soon as possible by updating the building and surrounding grounds so that we can reopen.”
“Your trust and the health and safety of your dogs remain our highest priority,” they wrote..
They stated that even though they are closed, they are offering clients in-home services, where staff members will stay at customers’ homes or make several visits during the day or night.
“We are accepting reservations for mid-February and beyond in anticipation of reopening shortly,” they wrote.
In their email, they referenced the November dog bite as “an unfortunate incident,” stating their two beloved rescue dogs got out of what they said was their fenced-in yard.
“This incident has left us devastated and our thoughts are with the individual affected,” they wrote.
We used B&BI a few times but became concerned about the cleanliness of the facilities and the inability to see where our dogs were kept and what they were doing. Then we picked up our 6 lb dog and was told he had gotten into an interaction with a Pit Bull and was hurt “a little.” We took him to the vet and found his hindquarters were traumatized but not seriously injured. The poor little guy was in pain, however. We have never gone back since, and are not surprised by this news. Yes, there are two sides to every story. The owners of B&BI were given the chance by GMW to tell their side, and it is quoted in the article. There is not going to be some other version that GMW suppressed.
If there is a need for permits or corrective action then that needs to be attended to without question. However, I have a problem with the slant on this article – GOOD Morning Wilton has always been about good news and this seems to be a hatchet job on the Farinas’. From your “About” section of your website:
Just as crucial, what you won’t find on GOOD Morning Wilton:
There’s no police blotter.
Ands yet, you felt the need to report the charges against Mr. Farinas that were the result of alleged activities unrelated to Bone & Bark but rather to his personal animals who escaped from his personal yard. Time to practice what you preach.
When a business serving the community and its owners fail to fulfill legal obligations to the public, and state and local authorities say that business is putting animals and other human beings at serious risk, and they say that the business has tried to conceal it — the role of the press as public watchdog (no pun intended) is to inform the public of those facts.
We’d do the same thing if the state closed a restaurant or a daycare center operating without a license. Our job is to act in the public interest — so that when people are deciding where to eat or bring their children to daycare — or entrust their animals for care — they can do so with full knowledge.
If an unlicensed doctor opened an office in Wilton and began treating patients, failed to sterilize exam room equipment, and was told by the state to close down until they obtained a license and fixed things, but that doctor didn’t get the license and continued treating patients — it would be in the public’s interest to be fully informed about that. So too in this case.
It was actually the Wilton Police that made the owner’s personal pet incidents part of the public record — sending out a press release to GMW and other media and reporting the arrest to State Animal Control investigators as part of their case. It actually factored into decisions made by state authorities, who referred to it multiple times in the public record that we included with the story. Omitting it would be failing to meet our responsibility to the public. The incident with the privately-owned pets was public knowledge, and it’s in the public’s interest to know what happens when an animal attack sends a person to the ER. The adjudication informs the public of what the police and courts do to protect them.
We covered the story considering the facts objectively — the straightforward facts were presented as they came from police reports and state animal control reports. We did not include anecdotes from people who said their dogs were neglected. We did not include knowledge of prior incidents with animals that were lost or hurt while in the business’ care — those weren’t part of the current reports and to do so would be to sensationalize it. And we offered the business owners ample opportunity to comment and explain their side of the story — not something typically done as part of a ‘hatchet job.’ We’ve made screenshots of some of those texts public on GMW’s Facebook page. The Farinases declined to answer our questions or address specific details.
It’s tough reporting stories like this in a small community. There are personal relationships and many know the individuals behind the names and facts. But that doesn’t change the fact that when business owners in which the public placed their trust don’t live up to that promise, the public has a right and need to know.
You can blame the messenger, but the responsibility rests with individuals who authorities said chose not to license their business, chose not to vaccinate their pets (which led to someone needing rabies treatment), and chose to not ensure those pets were secured — twice sending people to the ER.
There’s a difference between police blotter incidents and news in the public’s interest. We generally don’t cover DUIs arrests or MVAs. But we do cover police-related stories in the public interest. Here’s a recent example: we wouldn’t write about a two-car MVA involving one driver who followed another too closely approaching a stop sign, but we would cover a single-car MVA involving a car crashing into a storefront in a public shopping center.
We wrestle with these decisions every day — what to cover, how to cover it, what the public needs to know, etc. It’s not easy work, and it’s even harder in a small town like Wilton. But especially when the number of news sources has dwindled so much since we first started publishing, the need for someone to watch out for the public is even more important.
Great local reporting on a subject of local interest. Keep it up