When any person arrested under any provision of the laws relating to cruelty to animals is, at the time of such arrest, in charge of any vehicle drawn by or containing any animal cruelly treated, any agent or officer of the Connecticut Humane Society may take charge of such animal and of such vehicle and its contents, and shall give notice thereof to the owner, if known, at his last-known address by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, and if the owner is not known, by publication in a newspaper having a circulation in the town in which the society took charge of such animal. The society shall care and provide for the animal and the vehicle and its contents until their owner takes charge of them or, if the state claims such seized property is a nuisance, until they are destroyed or disposed of in accordance with section 54-33g. The society shall have a lien on any such animal and vehicle for the expenses of such care and provision.