You might remember that, this past March, a reader sent this photo of a substance that looked like antifreeze at dog’s eye level near the curb of Valhalla and Sylvan. A dog had licked at the liquid and became ill.
That photo caught the attention of the Verona Police Department and New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Their investigation confirmed that the green liquid shown above was antifreeze. They also found an unidentified treat laced with animal feces at the curb. As a result, four criminal and civil summonses were issued to the property owner, Salvatore Ferruggia.
According to the NJSPCA, Ferruggia had his day in court last month and pleaded guilty to two of the four animal cruelty charges. He was fined $500 for each of the offense and ordered to pay $250 for the cost of the NJSPCA investigation. He also had to reimburse the dog owners, who were not identified, for the veterinary care costs they had incurred, which was $263. The dog recovered.
The NJSPCA Humane Police would like to publicly thank the Verona Police Department for its cooperation and assistance in this joint-agency animal cruelty investigation.
NJSPCA Humane Police Sgt. Al Peterson did a great job pulling this Essex County (Zone B) case together and securing a positive outcome in the interest of animal cruelty law enforcement, in the interest of justice, and in the best interest of the animal involved in this successful investigation and adjudication.
Pet owners should learn from this case and make sure all pets and children are kept away from anything they may appear to be anti-freeze.
Since 1868, the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty and the NJSPCA Humane Police to Animals have been the leading force committed to protecting New Jersey’s animals from Cruelty, Abuse and Neglect at NO Cost to either New Jersey taxpayers or the NJ State Government. For more information about the NJSPCA and its Humane Police Division, and how you can help to protect band serve New Jersey’s animals, please visit http://www.njspca.org. Please feel free to report all animal cruelty and support the NJSPCA. Visit us on Facebook.