Ferret's throat slit during domestic dispute
Neptune, NJ (US)

Incident Date: Sunday, May 3, 2009
County: Monmouth

Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Stephen Hetzel

Upcoming Court Dates:
» Thursday, May 28, 2009

A 20-year-old township man was charged with animal cruelty after he slit the throat of his girlfriend's pet ferret from ear to ear, said Victor "Buddy" Amato, chief of the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The ferret was treated at Red Bank Animal Hospital and has been returned to its owner, Amato said Monday.

Stephen Hetzel and his girlfriend had a fight in their apartment on Myrtle Avenue between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. Sunday, according to Amato, and the woman left and called police.

Hetzel was taken into custody, police said, and when the woman returned to the apartment around 11 a.m. to retrieve her belongings, she found the 2-foot-long ferret in its cage bleeding profusely from its neck.

Hetzel had taken the ferret out of its cage and slit its throat with a knife, Amato said.

The woman took the animal to Red Bank Animal Hospital, where Dr. Rosanna Scali determined a knife caused the injuries, Amato said. The ferret needed extensive surgery.

Scali also found that the animal had defensive wounds from trying to fight the man off, Amato said.

Amato said the animal's injuries would have been much more serious had the cut been just one centimeter deeper.

Amato charged Hetzel on Monday afternoon with one count of animal cruelty. He is scheduled to appear in Municipal Court on May 28.

References

• « NJ State Animal Cruelty Map
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