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Case ID: 12981

Classification: Neglect / Abandonment

Animal: dog (non pit-bull)

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Six dogs found dead in home
Franklinville, NJ (US)

Incident Date: Wednesday, Dec 12, 2007
County: Gloucester

Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 2 files available

Alleged: Joseph Brodie

Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

Police Chief Michael DiGiorgio is keeping an eye on a Central Avenue home, where the skeletal remains of as many as six dogs were found December 2007.

Four other dogs still are being kept at the property.

The state Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, headquartered in New Brunswick, has filed charges of failure to provide sustenance and veterinary care against the owner, Joseph Brodie, a Pennsylvania resident, who allegedly comes to the township every day to care for the dogs.

Brodie maintains he comes to the house every day to care for the animals, DiGiorgio said. The owner also said the dogs died of natural causes, and he was advised by a veterinarian he could not bury them in his yard, so he placed them in crates, according to the chief.

DiGiorgio was at the property Wednesday.

"The pens were clean, and the dogs had food and water," the chief said. "We're doing everything we can to monitor the situation. If necessary, I'll feed them myself."

The chief said a locksmith made the grim discovery after going to the property Dec. 12 in connection with a foreclosure proceeding.

"The dead dogs were in various stages of decomposition and stored in crates," DiGiorgio said. "Some were skeletal, indicating they had been dead for a long time."

The chief said there was no apparent evidence of animal abuse. He said a Gloucester County animal control officer found four dogs outside and seized them because they appeared to be abandoned, but the SPCA ordered them returned to Brodie pending court action.

"We're trying to take the dogs, but we want to do it legally," said state SPCA spokesman Matt Stanton.

It was unclear Friday if Brodie had been served with the complaints that were filed for the dead dogs and the remaining dogs. DiGiorgio said Brodie was cited for failure to license the dogs in 2007.

"The four remaining animals are hunting dogs," Stanton said. "They're usually kept lean and thin. They look like pheasant dogs."

Brodie is scheduled to appear in Franklin Township Municipal Court at 4:30 p.m. Jan. 17, according to DiGiorgio.

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References

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