The woman accused of hoarding and abandoning dozens of dogs at her Lakewood home plead guilty before a Lakewood judge this afternoon.
The woman was represented with an attorney when she plead guilty to two charges of Animal Cruelty before Judge Bason.
The woman was handed down a $1,000 fine for each of the two charges, and a seven-year animal ban.
The charges stem from a May incident in which approximately 40 dogs were found abandoned and uncared for inside her Spruce Street residence. Officials from the Haz-Mat needed to assist at the scene due to the extreme filth and hazardous living conditions inside the home.
In handing down the ban, Judge Bason stated that officials from the SPCA would periodically check up on her to ensure she is in compliance, or face prison time.
“I’m very concerned that these animals are helpless unless we provide for them, and you let yourself and the community down,” said the Judge. I don’t want to see you doing this again.”
The attorney for the woman refused to comment.
In an exclusive interview with TLS, Lakewood Prosecutor Mike Burns says they were able to reach such a deal in this case due to the fact none of the animals died. The animals were adopted and doing fine today.
[TLS]
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What a joke!!! This woman did dog fighting. She belongs in jail
What a joke indeed. The judge says “I don’t want to see you doing this again”. REALLY? You think this woman got a reality check by that statement? I think not. She has been doing what she’s doing for a long time and you can bet it was more than 40 dogs throughout the years. If the comment of her using them for dog fighting is true I can only imagine how many dogs DID die at the hands of this disgusting woman.
i heard lakewood animal control knew about these dogs. i was told they took 2 dogs a week out in till it became obvious to the public. they should have called for more help right away to help these poor dogs.
And no complaints from the neighbors!
I would like to make some points known regarding the situation on Spruce Street. First it was a hoarding problem (mental health issue), no dog fighting was involved. It was 29 dogs not forty as reported by some media outlets. Lakewood Animal Control did take the lead in the investigation and was attempting to remove the animals from the house once we were permitted access to the property by the new property owner. Once it was determined that the Shelter (which is operated by the County, not the Township) couldn’t handle the volume of animals involved our Animal Control officer contacted the outside agencies for assistance. This was done over the course of one week. Would we have liked to remove the dogs immediately, but we are bound by laws and procedures that must be adhered too legally . Though the conditions were not favorable the animals were being fed and watered until we could get all the agencies on board. The NJSPCA, Sears Farm, Popcorn Park Zoo, Husky House and 11th hour rescue were all involved in helping us to save these animals. Lakewood Township has one fulltime Animal Control and one part time on call officer. They are both very committed to helping animals; unfortunately the volume of calls can be overwhelming. I am not making any excuse here, for me to go over the how or why of our animal control program would take forever. If anyone has questions or concerns I can be reached at the Department of Public Works. Thank you.
There was a humane officer that said lakewood animal control only took 2 dogs a week out of that horrible place. I was told by this officer that lakewood animal control didn’t call for help like they should have. If this is the case, someone needs to be held responsible for this act. This would make the so called rescuers just as guilty as the woman that committed this inhumane act. We will follow this [VERY CLOSELY] and find out what actually happened.