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Article Archive > Maryland woman pleads guilty on animal cruelty charge Maryland woman pleads guilty on animal cruelty charge MIDDLETOWN - A Maryland woman has been fined $1,000 and ordered to pay the medical bills of her boyfriend's pooch, who she dragged alongside her car because she didn't want the muddied canine to dirty the inside of her car, authorities said. Stephanie L. Sciscione, 31, pleaded guilty to one count of animal cruelty in Middletown Municipal Court Monday morning, admitting she dragged the terrier mix named Marlin by its leash down Locust Avenue, in the Navesink section of the township at about 5 p.m. on Aug. 25 after she located the dog that had run away earlier in the day, according to Victor "Buddy" Amato, chief law enforcement officer for the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The woman was holding the leash out of her car window as she dragged the dog alongside the vehicle. Passing motorists tried to get Sciscione's attention, but she instead got upset about the hocking horns and sped up around the cars and into the driveway of her boyfriend's home on Locust Avenue, Amato said. When police stopped her, Sciscione told them the runaway dog was "too muddy to put in the car,'' Amato added. A blood trail ran from the street into the driveway. The dog's hind legs were raw and bleeding, its nails were worn down and its front shoulder was injured, Amato said. The animal was transported to Red Bank Animal Hospital, before being taken to the Monmouth County SPCA in Eatontown. The dog sustained about $2,000 in medical bills to treat his injuries, Amato said. |