Dog survived trash compactor too
Published in the Home News Tribune 12/11/03
By KEN SERRANO
STAFF WRITER
PERTH AMBOY: The dog found in the Edgeboro Landfill in East Brunswick last week survived not only an attempt to euthanize her but also a trash compactor, an officer for the Middlesex County SPCA said yesterday.
"Obviously, it's a miracle," said SPCA Officer Michael Iovine. "The dog was euthanized with drugs, presumed dead, put into a plastic bag and then a trash compactor and compressed, and survived that. It's just amazing it lived through that whole mess."
The investigation into whether the Perth Amboy Animal Control Officer William Paul followed the proper procedures in attempting to put the dog down is not yet finished, he said.
A Perth Amboy woman who was moving to a place that did not allow pets brought the dog into the city pound Dec. 3 and asked for it to be put down, Iovine said.
The 5-year-old shepherd-Labrador mix was found in the back of a garbage trailer Dec. 4 after apparently clawing through the plastic bag it was placed in.
City Police Director Michael Kohut said his department was investigating the incident only as a personnel matter. The Animal Control Office is part of the Police Department.
But Iovine said civil penalties and disorderly-persons charges could come from the SPCA if they find Paul was negligent.
The two charges that could apply to the case are torturing and tormenting an animal and abandonment of an animal to die in a public place. The disorderly-persons charges carry penalties of up to six months in jail and fines of up to $1,000. Separate civil fines for both charges are $250, he said.
But according to Iovine, Paul, in an interview, said he followed proper procedures. Paul gave the dog two shots, one to sedate her, the other to stop her heart. And he listened with a stethoscope for a heartbeat, not hearing one, Iovine said.
He said Paul has been in the job for 20 years and has worked closely with the SPCA during that time.
"We've never had an issue with (Paul) or with the Perth Amboy Police Department," Iovine said. "We go back a long way."
Iovine, like other SPCA officers, is a volunteer who has undergone police academy training. The officers carry firearms and have the power of arrest, search and seizure when conducting animal-cruelty investigations, he said.
The investigation of Paul and the Perth Amboy pound is being handled jointly by the SPCA and Perth Amboy police, Iovine said.
Authorities said placing a euthanized animal into a landfill is accepted practice as long as the body is properly disposed of.
After being found at the landfill, the dog was taken to Blumig Kennels in East Brunswick. Yesterday, Linda Blumig, who runs the kennel, said 57 people have called seeking to adopt the dog following news reports of the its plight. Those calls came from as far away as Delaware, she said.
David Blumig, Animal Control officer for East Brunswick and Blumig's brother, said he received another 20 to 25 calls.
The dog is still not ready for adoption.
"It's a very timid dog," David Blumig said. "We're trying to figure out if that's because of what it went through."
The dog has yet to be named, although some people have been calling it Lucky, David Blumig said.
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how did it survive that???
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