Cat stuffed in bag, drowned - Roxbury, NJ

Wednesday, Dec 20, 2006

Township officials discovered a 6 to 7 year-old male tabby cat that had been bagged and drowned in a pond on Mooney Road.

The township's animal control officer, Tara Pellegrino, said on Wednesday, Dec. 20, that she is also the township's animal cruelty investigator, and is actively seeking the identity of those responsible for the intentional act of cruelty.

"I have never seen or heard of anything like this happening in Roxbury Township, not in at least the four years that I have been here. You do hear of this kind of thing occurring, but never in Roxbury," Pellegrino said.

The grim discovery of the male cat was made by a one of the parks and recreation employees in the early hours of the morning on Dec. 20.

"He noticed a bag floating in the pond on Mooney Road, and he went to remove it, thinking it was just litter or debris," Pellegrino said.

Instead, the worker discovered the dead animal, which had managed to make a hole in the doubled plastic bags, and also had one leg protruding.

"It was apparent that the animal had struggled to get out and that it had ultimately drowned," she said. "We are all just outraged about this. It was clear that the animal struggled for its life," she said.

Pellegrino said New Jersey state laws clearly spell out strict penalties for acts of animal cruelty.

"This is a fourth degree crime. Perpetrators can spend up to 18 months in jail, and can face community service and a $10,000 fine," she said.

"The state takes animal cruelty acts very seriously," she said.

Pellegrino said that residents wishing to dispose of unwanted animals, for any reason, have several options available to them.

"First, they can call the animal control officer and ask for our help. We will either place the animal in another home, or we can board it at one of our two shelters," she said.

The township works with both the Lakeland Animal Haven and the Noah's Ark Animal Welfare Shelter, located on Kingtown Mountain in the Ledgewood section of the township.

"There will always be a place where people can take an animal," she said.

Pellegrino said the deceased animal was clearly, at one time, a pet. "He was well-fed, and he was a neutered male. I would guess, just by examining the teeth, that he was between 6 and 7 years old," she said.

"He was loved at one time. He probably became a nuisance to someone, either his owner, or a neighbor or someone," Pellegrino said.

Pellegrino said she is looking for information from the public, from anyone who may have seen something at the pond, or with any information about who may have killed the animal.

She can be reached at (973) 584-4372.

Health officer Frank Grisi said this grisly crime is being brought to the attention of this newspaper and the public for two reasons.

The first, he said, is to let people know that this is considered a serious crime. "People can go to jail for animal cruelty," he said.

"We also want to educate people that there are other resources available to them, if they have an animal they don't want, or can't care for," he said.

"We can either have the animal sheltered or we can have it put to sleep. But what happened here is animal cruelty, and it's against the law," Grisi said.

If you have information on this case, please contact:
Investigator Pellegrino
973-584-4372

Case Updates

References

• « NJ State Animal Cruelty Map
  « More cases in Morris County, NJ

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