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NJ Couple Arrested After "Finding" Severely Abused Dog In Trash Bag
By
Ben Yakas
Published Mar 16, 2013
Modified Mar 16, 2013
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Mar 16, 2013
Modified Mar 16, 2013
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This week, a NJ man "found" a severely abused dog in a trash bag on the side of a NJ highway, and brought it to authorities. But now, that alleged good Samaritan and his wife have been arrested and charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty against the 7-year-old cocker spaniel. Below, you can see a horrifying, heatbreaking photo of the dog, now named Samurai, when he was first found in the trash bag with a skin infection, ear infection, open wounds and sores after years of abuse and neglect.
Samurai ( Associated Humane Popcorn Park Shelter's Facebook)
Keith Morgan told cops he found the dog on the side of the highway in Wall Township, New Jersey, after he says he and his wife Shauna spotted a moving garbage bag.
"We were going slow behind this other car and my wife noticed a bag moving toward the street," Morgan told News 12 New Jersey in an interview Thursday. "My wife said, 'There's something inside that bag.'" After he opened up the bag, he said he "started to cry and I couldn't understand that anyone could be that cruel..my heart dropped."
Keith Morgan
Here's how Associated Humane Popcorn Park Shelter described the dog's condition when it first came in:
When he opened it, he found a dog in it, that was in the most horrid, unimaginable, neglectful condition. He immediately brought this poor creature to our AHS Tinton Falls facility, where our staff began to shave down the horrendous, urine and feces soaked coat of this dog, which had imprisoned him for an interminable length of time. As the coat was being shorn, it revealed sores, open wounds, urine scalding and more. The aging male dog was then sent to an emergency vet hospital for care.
Initially, they named the dog "Morgan" after the man who found him. But by Friday, people started having suspicions. “They (humane society) called me to come down and do interviews," said Victor “Buddy” Amato, chief humane law enforcement officer with the SPCA. "The story itself was unbelievable...that he’s driving down the highway and sees big black bag moving and finds animal near death,” Amato said. “The whole thing was just bizarre and as far as we’re concerned it’s fabrication.”
They soon discovered that the dog had been registered to the Morgans. “The dog was registered in Brick to these people (the couple) in 2007," Amato said. "We know that the dog is at least 7 years old, but it looks much older than 7.” The couple was taken into custody on Friday: “Both of them are going to be charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty and interfering in an investigation," said Charles Webster, spokesman for the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office. "The multiple counts are all being sorted out, but will include animal cruelty involving neglect, and a separate charge of abandonment."
Samurai is now being taken care of at the Red Bank Veterinary Hospital. In a Facebook update today, they say he "is resting comfortably. He did not experience any issues overnight. He even made a few attempts to stand, although he is still too weak." But he's not out of the woods just yet: "He was severely dehydrated. He had a temperature. He was emaciated," said Alicia Mecker, the shelter manager in Tinton Falls.
“The condition of the dog is guarded at best," Amato added. "Obviously the animal is in deep pain and sickly. Hopefully the dog pulls through, but if the dog doesn’t pull through, that makes it it an indictable offense,” he said.
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animal abuse
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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