Case Snapshot

Case ID: 6395

Classification: Neglect / Abandonment

Animal: cat, dog (non pit-bull)

View more cases in NJ (US)

Person(s) in animal care

Login to Watch this Case

Images for this Case

all 1 media files »

For more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.

Animal shelter director to surrender license
Pennsauken, NJ (US)

Incident Date: Wednesday, Aug 31, 2005
County: Camden

Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 1 files available

Alleged: Jill Amy Weilenbeck

Case Updates: 5 update(s) available

Jill Weilenbeck is facing 11 new animal cruelty charges and a $23,000 fine for animal cruelty, a disorderly persons offense to which she pleaded guilty. The new charges could even lead to jail time, Goldberg said. Years of concerns about conditions there led to owner Jill Weilenbeck losing her license as an animal control officer in September 2005, the SPCA said.

The animal cruelty charges were based on a lack of medical care for animals at the shelter, he said. "They are bringing animals in that have been sick that are just sitting there," Goldberg said.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Health and Senior Services is awaiting the results of a Nov. 3 inspection of the shelter. Among the problems the inspectors hoped would be resolved were dead animals uncataloged in refrigerator drawers and evidence of rats and puddles of urine. Dogs were kept in crates stacked on top of each other, and the shelter was filled with sick cats, the report found. The facility also lacked a quarantine area for sick animals and had no regular veterinarian visits, the inspector reported. Weilenbeck did not return calls for comment.

In 15 days Weilenbeck will surrender her license as a animal control officer and the 12 communities in Burlington and Camden County that rely on West Jersey Animal Shelter for animal control will have to contract with other companies for the service.

West Jersey Animal Shelter needs people to adopt about 90 cats and dogs by the end of the year to make space for a renovation project designed to resolve criminal and administrative charges filed against the beleaguered facility.

The shelter, which has a policy against euthanizing animals, will stay open as long as it has to for all the animals there to find homes, said office manager Sue Chuplis. But renovations costing between $50,000 and $100,000 will shut the shelter and could keep it closed for months, she said. "Everybody's goal here is to get (the animals) out but to get them to good homes," Chuplis said.

Area animal experts advised caution when adopting. Because the shelter won't kill animals, some of the dogs have been left in pens for extended periods. Capt. Sy Goldberg, of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, recommended that anyone thinking about adopting an animal test its disposition carefully before bringing it home.

Another local animal expert said the no-kill policy is cruel to the animals and risky for adopters.
"A lot of times they just languish in a cage until they die," said Karen Dixon-Aquino, director of the Animal Welfare Association in Voorhees, who consulted with state investigators on the West Jersey Animal Shelter. "Which, in my opinion, is inhumane in itself. These dogs have not been handled in years and no one can handle them."

Chuplis said animals at the shelter are not kept perpetually in pens and that they are regularly walked, socialized and played with. "We do have some animals that require a special home, but they could all be in a home," she said.

The renovations are designed to resolve problems facing the shelter, Chuplis said. But already crowded animal shelters could face a population spike as they take on the load normally handled by West Jersey.

"We expect some animals will be sent to the Camden County facility in Gloucester Township (Lakeland)," said Camden County spokesman Ken Shuttleworth in a written statement. "We expect the rest will be taken to shelters throughout the region."

Though it isn't clear when West Jersey will reopen, staff there hopes it will be a safer facility. They plan to update the 40-year-old building's drainage, ventilation and heating, Chuplis said. The building will be expanded, as will areas for the dogs to run out of a pen.

And, when it reopens, the shelter should have a regular veterinarian and administrator, a step both the SPCA and the Department of Health have requested. The business will no longer handle animal control, and that should reduce overcrowding caused by the facility's no-kill policy, Chuplis said. She noted she brings her children, including a 12-year-old daughter, to the shelter and feels safe with them around the animals.

"They could all be acclimated to live in a house," she said. "I trust them all with my children."

Case Updates

References

• « NJ State Animal Cruelty Map

  Not sure what these icons mean? Click here.

  
  

  Note: Classifications and other fields should not be used to determine what specific charges the suspect is facing or was convicted of - they are for research and statistical purposes only. The case report and subsequent updates outline the specific charges. Charges referenced in the original case report may be modified throughout the course of the investigation or trial, so case updates, when available, should always be considered the most accurate reflection of charges.
  
  For more information regarding classifications and usage of this database, please visit the database notes and disclaimer.