Dogs abandoned in home, two found dead
Egg Harbor City, NJ (US)Date: Feb 1, 2006
Disposition: Not Charged
Person of Interest: Robert Louis Vogel
|
|
A complaint about a trash-filled yard led to the Feb 1 discovery of two dogs that had apparently starved to death in a Boston Avenue home, according to the Atlantic County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
A third dog was found alive.
The dead dogs were found in a trash- and feces-filled utility room off the kitchen, county SPCA President Nancy Beall said.
The dogs had been locked up without food and water and probably had been dead for longer than a month, Beall said. She said neighbors told her they had not seen the animal's owner, Robert Vogel, in weeks.
"It looks like he just locked them up in the house and left them there," she said.
The surviving dog was locked inside the house but not in the utility room, Beall said. It's unclear how it survived or what its condition was. Beall said it did not appear to be seriously ill, but it had not been examined by a vet early Wednesday afternoon. Beall said the dog was en route to a clinic.
"He's a little bit on the hairy side," she said. "It doesn't look bad, but it could be thin underneath all that hair."
She said all of the dogs appeared to be cockapoos, a cross between a cocker spaniel and a poodle.
Beall said she will bring animal cruelty charges against the dogs' owner. He faces a $5,000 fine and as many as six months in jail per animal, she said.
Code enforcement officer Frank DeClementi discovered the dogs while investigating a neighbor's complaint about trash in the yard of the home, located in the 200 block of Boston Avenue.
"I heard a dog barking inside the house," he said. "I checked the rear door and the rear door was (unlocked). I opened it and that's when I discovered that there were a couple of dog carcasses inside. They looked like they had been there for a while, and the neighbors said they hadn't seen the owner of the property for a couple of weeks, maybe three."
He said he contacted Beall, who took custody of the surviving dog.
Egg Harbor City Public Safety Director Mark Emmer said police will not pursue charges. Atlantic County Health Officer Patricia Diamond said her office is not involved in the case. References« Back to Search Results
|
