Tuesday, April 13, 2004
APP.COM - Owner jailed, dogs rescued after they were set afire What sick fucks there are! The article is followed:
Owner jailed, dogs rescued after they were set afire
Published in the Asbury Park Press 4/13/04
By A. SCOTT FERGUSON
TOMS RIVER BUREAU
SEASIDE HEIGHTS -- A 36-year-old Franklin Avenue man, accused of dousing his two dogs with a spray lubricant and setting them on fire, faces eight charges of animal cruelty, authorities said.
Shadow licks the face of Karen Crowley, a technician at Popcorn Park Zoo in Lacey. She holds Poppy. The dogs are being treated for burns, mainly to ears and face.
Anonymous tips to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals led investigators to Ronald Fredericks' apartment yesterday morning.
"We responded to that location and saw the conditions of the dogs and placed him under arrest," SPCA Investigator Scott Watkins said. Fredericks was arrested without incident, Watkins said.
Watkins said he had never before seen this type of abuse.
The dogs, a Pekingese named Poppy and a shepherd mix named Shadow, were taken to Popcorn Park Zoo in Lacey, where they were under treatment for burns and were expected to recover, said Dr. Sherry Podhayny, a veterinarian at the zoo, run by the Associated Humane Societies.
Shadow, believed to be about a year old, suffered the more severe burns with extensive damage to her ears and face, authorities said. Poppy's ears were also injured.
After being charged, Fredericks was taken to the Ocean County Jail, Toms River, in lieu of $5,000 bail.
The eight animal cruelty charges stem from a single incident two weeks ago, Watkins said. Each is considered a fourth-degree offense and carries a possible jail term of 18 months and a fine, Watkins said.
Watkins declined to discuss what prompted the attack.
Shadow, a shepherd mix, tends to Poppy, a Pekingese. Their owner was arrested yesterday.
Fredericks had adopted the Pekingese, a 2 1/2-year-old female, from a neighbor, investigators said. They did not know how he acquired the other dog.
Two anonymous complaints about dogs being burned led Watkins to the apartment. He said the animals had first been sprayed with the lubricant WD-40.
Friendly, not fearful
The dogs were being treated with pain medication and antibiotics late yesterday, Podhayny said. They have fleas and show signs of neglect and lack of basic care, she said.
"We were surprised, with the extensive suffering, that they would even come near us," Podhayny said. "With their ongoing pain, it's amazing that they will wag their tails. They are very stoic."
The zoo will keep the dogs for at least a week, she said, before finding new owners.
There have been several high-profile animal cruelty cases at the Shore in the last several months.
In Asbury Park, three teen-age boys were charged in January with beating a Jack Russell terrier and throwing it against a brick wall. The dog was in a coma for three days and temporarily blinded but has recovered.
In February, the last of three teen-agers pleaded guilty to killing several exotic birds at Popcorn Park during a vandalism spree last year. The three teens are to be sentenced Friday in state Superior Court in Toms River.
Penalties more severe
In recent years, the penalties for animal cruelty have increased. No longer a disorderly persons offense handled in a municipal court, it is now a crime that carries possible jail time, said Janine Motta, with the New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance in Englishtown.
Earlier this year, a repeat offender and anyone who kills an animal became subject to third-degree charges that could lead to jail terms of three to five years, Motta said.
Told about the charges in Sea-side Heights yesterday, Motta said she was surprised, and pleased, that Fredericks was charged with animal cruelty and not a disorderly persons offense.
"That's not usually a given," Motta said. "It's a surprise that they charged him with cruelty because if the animals don't die, it sometimes is filed as dis-orderly persons. There's no uniformity with this kind of act."
Fredericks is to appear before a judge today in state Superior Court, Toms River, authorities said.
A. Scott Ferguson: (732) 557-5740 or sferguson@app.com
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Owner jailed, dogs rescued after they were set afire
Published in the Asbury Park Press 4/13/04
By A. SCOTT FERGUSON
TOMS RIVER BUREAU
SEASIDE HEIGHTS -- A 36-year-old Franklin Avenue man, accused of dousing his two dogs with a spray lubricant and setting them on fire, faces eight charges of animal cruelty, authorities said.
Shadow licks the face of Karen Crowley, a technician at Popcorn Park Zoo in Lacey. She holds Poppy. The dogs are being treated for burns, mainly to ears and face.
Anonymous tips to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals led investigators to Ronald Fredericks' apartment yesterday morning.
"We responded to that location and saw the conditions of the dogs and placed him under arrest," SPCA Investigator Scott Watkins said. Fredericks was arrested without incident, Watkins said.
Watkins said he had never before seen this type of abuse.
The dogs, a Pekingese named Poppy and a shepherd mix named Shadow, were taken to Popcorn Park Zoo in Lacey, where they were under treatment for burns and were expected to recover, said Dr. Sherry Podhayny, a veterinarian at the zoo, run by the Associated Humane Societies.
Shadow, believed to be about a year old, suffered the more severe burns with extensive damage to her ears and face, authorities said. Poppy's ears were also injured.
After being charged, Fredericks was taken to the Ocean County Jail, Toms River, in lieu of $5,000 bail.
The eight animal cruelty charges stem from a single incident two weeks ago, Watkins said. Each is considered a fourth-degree offense and carries a possible jail term of 18 months and a fine, Watkins said.
Watkins declined to discuss what prompted the attack.
Shadow, a shepherd mix, tends to Poppy, a Pekingese. Their owner was arrested yesterday.
Fredericks had adopted the Pekingese, a 2 1/2-year-old female, from a neighbor, investigators said. They did not know how he acquired the other dog.
Two anonymous complaints about dogs being burned led Watkins to the apartment. He said the animals had first been sprayed with the lubricant WD-40.
Friendly, not fearful
The dogs were being treated with pain medication and antibiotics late yesterday, Podhayny said. They have fleas and show signs of neglect and lack of basic care, she said.
"We were surprised, with the extensive suffering, that they would even come near us," Podhayny said. "With their ongoing pain, it's amazing that they will wag their tails. They are very stoic."
The zoo will keep the dogs for at least a week, she said, before finding new owners.
There have been several high-profile animal cruelty cases at the Shore in the last several months.
In Asbury Park, three teen-age boys were charged in January with beating a Jack Russell terrier and throwing it against a brick wall. The dog was in a coma for three days and temporarily blinded but has recovered.
In February, the last of three teen-agers pleaded guilty to killing several exotic birds at Popcorn Park during a vandalism spree last year. The three teens are to be sentenced Friday in state Superior Court in Toms River.
Penalties more severe
In recent years, the penalties for animal cruelty have increased. No longer a disorderly persons offense handled in a municipal court, it is now a crime that carries possible jail time, said Janine Motta, with the New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance in Englishtown.
Earlier this year, a repeat offender and anyone who kills an animal became subject to third-degree charges that could lead to jail terms of three to five years, Motta said.
Told about the charges in Sea-side Heights yesterday, Motta said she was surprised, and pleased, that Fredericks was charged with animal cruelty and not a disorderly persons offense.
"That's not usually a given," Motta said. "It's a surprise that they charged him with cruelty because if the animals don't die, it sometimes is filed as dis-orderly persons. There's no uniformity with this kind of act."
Fredericks is to appear before a judge today in state Superior Court, Toms River, authorities said.
A. Scott Ferguson: (732) 557-5740 or sferguson@app.com
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