| January: A tough month for cruelty | |||||||
| by BUDDY AMATO | |||||||
|
Cruelty was on the rise during the month of January. For the new year, some sick individual decided that it would be funny to put a dead squirrel in a toy car and place a New Year’s sign on it. This is an ongoing investigation and at this time we have no suspects. This was left on the front yard of a Middletown resident and was visible for children to see when they were returning home from school. On January 4th, my division was notified of a horse that was emaciated in Millstone Township. The horse in question was very under weight and the owner was ordered to get it to a vet to check the animal out and provide the animal with whatever care was needed to bring it back to health. Warnings were issued and this case will be monitored for a few months. In livestock cases, it is mandatory for warnings to be issued before citations are issued. In Englishtown, the SPCA of Monmouth County was dispatched to a call that involved a person that was using his car as a doghouse. The owner was given a warning and the situation was corrected. This month alone we have had five complaints that people were using their cars to house animals, including cats, dogs, ferrets and parrots, among others. On January 7, the SPCA was called by one of the farms in the area. The caretakers on the farm had many animals, from goats and horses, and even pigs, incorporated into holiday displays during the previous season. Reportedly, the animals were neglected terribly while used in this manner. They were not given adequate shelter, let alone water. In addition, they were covered with feces when SPCA officers investigated the report. The situation was immediately corrected and fines, along with other sanctions, were leveled against the party concerned. On January 10th, an officer was dispatched to Asbury Park, where a dog was found dead in a garbage can. Upon further investigation, another dog was found in a nearby backyard. The dog was starved to death. This case is coming up. Sixteen citations were issued to all the adults in the household. On January 11th, the SPCA was dispatched to Asbury Park for a distress call. Upon arrival, officers noticed an American Bulldog was wrapped completely in chicken wire. There was no doghouse and no water available to the animal. Additionally, the dog needed medical attention. The owner arrived on the scene and became verbally combative. She received a court date for the matter to be addressed. On January 29th, the Holmdel Police Department contacted the SPCA in reference to a French poodle that was freezing to death in the owner’s yard. The temperature was in the 20s and the dog was covered in ice and near death. The Holmdel police were responsible for saving the dog’s life and the SPCA has filed charges against the owner of the dog for cruelty. The case is coming up next month. The Monmouth County SPCA conducts between 75 to 100 investigations each month. These are among a few of the cases that are currently open. For more information, call Chief Buddy Amato at (732) 542-0400. (Chief Victor "Buddy" Amato is the chief investigator for the Monmouth County SPCA, headquartered in Eatontown. For more information about this column, call (732) 671-9555.) Buddy Amato is a Hazlet business owner, who operates Amato's Karate and Weapons Academy. For more information, call (732) 671-9555.
Copyright Buddy Amato Amato's Goju-ryu Karate, Nunchaku, Bo-staff, Aikido, Sword, Kendo, Sais, Kick-boxing, Tai-Chi and more 589 Palmer Ave, Keansburg and is the author of Buddys Animal Kingdom, NJ 07734 (732) 671-9555 |
|