EAST BROOKFIELD - Two large dogs are at the center of a court case involving a Brookfield scientist and state Environmental Police, who believe the dogs are part wolf and therefore illegal to keep in Massachusetts.

Theodore R. Anderson, 68, of Martin Road, Brookfield, keeps the two dogs in a large enclosure in his yard. Keanu, a large, fluffy, white dog is a year old. Luna, her black coat thinning for spring, is 3 years old and noticeably smaller.

Last summer, Environmental Police Officer Nicholas Reimer began investigating after law enforcement staff from the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals contacted him about the dogs.

Officer Reimer wrote in court documents that after looking at Keanu and Luna, he suspected they were "wolf hybrids" and that keeping such pets in Massachusetts requires a permit. In his report he wrote that Mr. Anderson has no permit.

"These canines did not appear to be your average dogs," he wrote, adding that the level of security the enclosure provided seemed extreme for pet dogs.

Officer Reimer sought an opinion from Tom French of the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, who opined that the dogs are "at minimum, wolf hybrids," court documents show.

In an effort to show the dogs have a good temperament, Mr. Anderson sent a video depicting the animals playing with children to Officer Reimer, but further research allegedly showed the dogs were purchased from dealers who advertised them as "wolf dogs."

A broker who handled one of the sales allegedly told Officer Reimer the dogs are "wolf dogs," court documents say.

At one point during the investigation, it appeared the dogs were no longer on the property, and court documents show the investigator was told the animals had been moved to New York.

In mid-November a woman from New York called Officer Reimer and said one of the dogs had bitten her son in the face, Nov. 1, and the boy required 15 stitches, according to court documents. Photographs in the court file show a child's split upper lip. Officer Reimer learned that the dogs were back in Massachusetts after the alleged incident in New York and he wrote that he was looking into whether any federal laws had been violated.

In Mr. Anderson's defense, several people wrote letters of support, including some who expressed concern about the possibility that the state would seize the dogs. Others wrote that they'd interacted with the dogs and found them friendly and well-behaved, even when they were off Mr. Anderson's property.

Also in the court file was a request for a filmmaker to record court proceedings for a documentary about Mr. Anderson, whose website indicates he holds a PhD and is an inventor of "plasma antennas and other technologies."

Mr. Anderson was arraigned April 4 in Western Worcester District Court in East Brookfield on two counts of keeping a wild or hybrid canid. He pleaded not guilty, was released on personal recognizance and is due back in court June 22.

When a reporter visited his home Thursday, Mr. Anderson declined to be interviewed without first speaking to his lawyer. The attorney, Joseph Griffin, reached by phone, declined to comment.