The city has now opened up its anonymous Crime Stoppers hotline to accept animal cruelty complaints from across the five boroughs, officials said.
The ASPCA announced a partnership Wednesday with the NYPD's Crime Stoppers program, which will now have its operators take down information about animal cruelty in the city the same way they do for murders, shootings, rapes and other major crimes.
Tipsters can call the hotline and will also be eligible for an award of up to $2,500 for tips that lead to an arrest and indictment for animal cruelty, the ASPCA said.
Previously, tipsters could report possible cruelty by calling 311 or 911.
For years, when the ASPCA received a report of animal cruelty, their own enforcement unit, composed mostly of former police officers, would investigate. That's all changed now that the ASPCA has teamed up with the NYPD -- now current cops do the investigating and the ASPCA does the veterinary work. Andrew Siff has an exclusive look inside the new unit.
Animal-cruelty cases are being brushed aside because neither the ASPCA nor NYPD is taking the reins on enforcement.
The ASPCA laid off its law-enforcement investigators last month after announcing the NYPD was taking over “the lead role” in protecting animals — but police now insist they aren’t in charge, either.
Last week, the ASPCA released a statement saying, “The NYPD will now take the lead role in responding to all animal-cruelty complaints in the five boroughs . . . All eight NYPD patrol boroughs have been trained.”
But the NYPD has not yet rolled out the program or trained cops — and says it may never do so.
“The expansion of the program is under review . . . Staffing questions should be referred to the ASPCA,” NYPD Deputy Chief Kim Royster said.
“The NYPD will properly investigate abuse against animals.”
The switch over to the NYPD was put into motion in August, when the ASPCA’s newly appointed president, Matthew Bershadker, said the police had more manpower for handling the flood of calls his agency normally gets.
It's ok, I'm sure animal rights activist mayor Bill DeBlasio is going to take care of this, just as he got rid of the Central Park hansom cabs.
Owners of almost 300 dog and cats have to pick up their pets that have been calling a makeshift shelter home since Sandy struck. News 4's Roseanne Colletti has the story.
A black ASPCA employee who found a noose in the organization's Queens garage claims officials blew off her complaint and told her the hanging rope was for "operational purposes."
Sanoy Fleming, a part-time clerk in the records department, made the shocking discovery on Sept. 11 and used her phone to snap a photo.
Fleming, who has hired a lawyer, said a black colleague told her the noose had been hanging for several days in the garage of the spay and neuter clinic, which opened last June in Glendale.
"I was very upset, and it made me uncomfortable that no one thought it was inappropriate," Fleming, 40, told the Daily News.
"I explained to my supervisor that nooses were used to hang slaves, and I explained how insulting that is to African-Americans."
Fleming's supervisor apparently reported the incident to ASPCA higher-ups - four days later she was put on a conference call with the human resources department.
A man who identified himself as "George" warned Fleming that her work was not up to par.
"At the end of the conversation, he said, 'I heard you were upset about a rope found in the garage,' and he said that it was used for 'operational purposes' to lift things," the Brooklyn woman recalled.
A hulking 265-pound Jerry Melendez, 33, allegedly took his rage out on his defenseless eight-pound dog on February 10, striking him with enough force to fracture his skull and causing a hemorrhage to his left eye.
After the heinous assault in Ridgewood, Melendez rushed five-year-old Spotty, to a private animal hospital where doctors desperately tried treating him for seizures and head trauma. They were left with no choice but to euthanize the pooch, whose injuries were just too severe.
Veterinarians notified the ASPCA and a necropsy later determined Spotty sustained blunt force impact.
Melendez, was charged with one felony count of animal cruelty yesterday.
He faces up to two years in prison and a $2,000 fine.
Cherie Fillmore, 32, of Jamaica was busted by ASPCA Special Investigator Paul Romano on Feb. 5. after the carcass of a puppy pitbull, was found chained to a metal railing outside her house.
"The dog was starved, emaciated. All the fat and muscle had been exhausted. It would take weeks to get debilitated to that point," said ASPCA Asst. Director Joe Pentangelo.
Desiree Powell, 27, was taken into custody for allegedly battering her Yorkshire terrier puppy Chibi, who in just six-short months of his life had sustained three leg fractures, two broken ribs and a hemorrhage to his right eye.
An examination concluded Chibi had previously sustained three leg fractures, two broken ribs and a hemorrhage to its right eye. Powell, who lives in a luxury Long Island City hi-rise, was arrested by ASPCA Special Agent Bradley English yesterday.
ASPCA officers responded to a complaint at a Queens residence, where they found two pit bull terriers who appeared very thin. Upon further investigation by HLE agents and veterinary experts, it was determined that both dogs had been starved and there were no underlying medical problems to explain their poor body condition.
Leroy Shepard, 18, and Nikira Shepard, 20, were arrested for neglecting and starving the two dogs, a nine-month-old male and two-year-old female. The siblings were charged with two counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty, and if convicted, they each face up to two years in jail and/or a $2,000 fine.
This morning, Mayor Bloomberg declared a "weather emergency" after 19 inches of snow fell in NYC. He stated, "Clearing the streets remains our number one job - and to do that, motorists should please, please refrain from driving." So when I received Elizabeth Forel's email (see below) stating that carriage drivers were out on the streets, I wondered how the ASPCA could have possibly allowed them to leave their buildings this morning, given the Mayor's announcement, the dangerous conditions, and the law, which clearly states that horses should not be working under these conditions. At 3:45 p.m., I went up to 59th St. As soon as I emerged from the subway, I saw a carriage driver unloading one group of tourists from his carriage and reloading it with another. I also saw the water trough in Grand Army Plaza buried under snow. I called the ASPCA and asked if the carriage drivers were allowed to be working today. The agent assured me that they were not. I informed her that I was standing right next to one. She said that she would send an officer.
In spite of five solid years of activism by many animal advocacy organizations and individuals, conditions for the carriage horses appear to be just as bad now as ever before. And, instead of using their considerable power and influence to ban horse and buggies from midtown, the ASPCA continues to enable it:
See you in the streets.
Donny Moss
But the good news is that at least we have an unenforceable tethering bill!
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals last Friday officially relocated from Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and set up operations inside the spacious Atlas Terminals in Glendale.
The national animal welfare organization has signed five-year leases with ATCO Advisory Services on two separate sites at the historical former manufacturing and warehousing property on Cooper Avenue at 80th Street. One space houses the ASPCA’s six mobile spay and neuter clinics and an office, while the other will be used as a veterinary facility, which it anticipates to open in April. Approximately 20 members and two full-time veterinarians will staff the two sites.
Neither the mobile facilities nor the clinic will take emergencies; both will provide free and low-cost spay and neuter surgeries. The ASPCA’s humane law enforcement operations will remain in Long Island City.
One resident relayed a story of a dead dog found with his paws tied together with duct tape in the bushes at Windmuller Park three weeks ago.
The officers responding to the incident allegedly left the animal in a garbage pail overnight for Parks Department officials to take care of.
“I don’t know if the cops called the ASPCA or not,” the resident noted. “It shouldn’t have been left overnight.”
While agreeing with residents that the cops should have disposed of the animal properly, Kavanagh noted that “we’re not going to stop the presses for a dead dog in the park.”
After an outcry from residents demanding further investigation, Toro told the crowd he would reach out to the local ASPCA chapter to see if any similar incidents have occurred.
A heartless Queens woman was arrested for crippling her 11-month-old English bulldog after witnesses caught her on video beating the pooch with a shovel, officials said.
Maria Aguilar, 36, was arrested by the ASPCA and charged with animal cruelty.
The young bulldog, named Spike, had been abused repeatedly over the past few months.
During his short life, Spike has sustained a hip fracture, a broken leg, three broken teeth and injuries to his ears, according to ASPCA Assistant Director Joseph Pentangelo.
The pup, which is being treated at the ASPCA hospital, is also virtually blind in his right eye.
ASPCA investigators were called to Aguilar's house on Feb. 24 after witnesses reported hearing a dog crying.
One of the witnesses used a camera phone to tape the abuse, also capturing Spike's howls of pain. Aguilar is seen throwing Spike to the ground and then slamming him with a snow shovel.
It's a murder mystery with a double twist - the victim is a dog and the prime suspect is a former ASPCA hospital vet.
The owner of a Rottweiler named Bullet is desperately trying to find out how his dog died three years ago and has filed suit in federal court.
Meanwhile, the Daily News has learned that veterinarian John Morehead was accused by three colleagues of kicking the sickly 10-year-old animal.
The revelation came as a shock to Rafael Lopez, who said ASPCA investigators exhumed Bullet's body and performed a necropsy - but never came up with a cause of death.
"He was my baby," Lopez, 58, told The News. "I brought the dog there thinking they would save my dog. I killed him by taking him there."
Lopez had fed Bullet with a spoon since birth. When Bullet fell ill, he took him to the respected ASPCA Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital on Manhattan's upper East Side.
His first hint that the death might not have been natural came days later when ASPCA investigators showed up at his apartment demanding to know where Bullet was buried. They told him someone at the hospital "was killing dogs," according to the suit filed last year in Manhattan Federal Court against the ASPCA and current and former officials.
The body was exhumed and taken to Cornell Veterinary School in upstate Ithaca for a necropsy. Lopez never got the remains back - or an explanation.
A source familiar with the investigation told The News that there were, in fact, allegations Bullet was abused at the hospital.
A colleague, Dr. Sarah Alward, told higherups that Morehead - who has since left the ASPCA - kicked the dog hard in the torso the day before he died, the source said. Two other hospital employees also told the ASPCA's internal investigators they saw Morehead kick the dog, the source said. One said Morehead punched Bullet after the dog made a sudden movement toward him during an exam, the source said.
Alward, who no longer works at the ASPCA, confirmed to The News that she saw Morehead kick the dog but declined further comment.
As of right now Justice is back home with his owners - a demonstration/rally is schedule for this evening - details of location and time to follow.
The ASPCA did not remove the dog, nor did the ASPCA PHYSICALLY bring the dog back to the owner - the ASPCA bullied those into divulging the location of the animal - HENCE: THE ASPCA DID AUTHORIZE AND PROVIDE THE FAMILY WITH THE LOCATION OF THE ANIMAL AND PERMITTED THE FAMILY TO PICK UP JUSTICE FROM THE VET - (Our Local Vet did a skin scrape it was diagnosed with DEMO mange which is brought on by a compromised immune system, poor nutrition and stress)
WE ALL KNOW THAT JUSTICE'S CONDITION DID NOT HAPPEN IN 2 DAYS, 2 WEEKS OR 2 MONTHS - HIS CONDITION HAPPENED OVER A COURSE OF MONTHS - UNTREATED
BECAUSE JUSTICE IS NOW BACK HOME DOES NOT MEAN "THE OWNERS ARE CARING FOR HIM" - THEY HAVE NOT CARED FOR HIM MEDICALLY OR RESPONSIBLY FOR THE LAST 6 MONTHS - OR MORE - HIS CONDITION IS EVIDENCE. JUSTICE'S YARD MATE IS STILL OUTSIDE IN 20 DEGREE WEATHER - THIS HAS BEEN REPORTED AS OF THIS MORNING AT 9AM.
BEFORE JUSTICE - TWO OTHER DOGS DIED OF THE SAME CONDITION - AND IN THE SAME ENVIRONMENT.
NEIGHBORS HAVE CALLED THE ASPCA PERIODICALLY AND FLOODED THE SYSTEM WITH COMPLAINTS - YET THEY SEEM TO HAVE FELL UPON DEAF EARS - "SINCE SOME SORT OF SHELTER WAS PROVIDED" - THE SYSTEM TURNED THEIR BACKS ON THESE ANIMALS EVEN IN FAILING HEALTH.
LAST WEEK A LOCAL RESCUE GROUP/AGENCY MADE AN APPEARANCE AT THEIR HOME REGARDING JUSTICE - THE FAMILY AT THAT POINT DECIDED TO SEEK MEDICAL TREATMENT - (NOTE: WEDNESDAY OF LAST WEEK-WHY DID IT TAKE THE OWNERS THIS LONG TO HELP THE ANIMAL? - THEY JUST DID NOT CARE-) JUSTICE WAS MIS-DIAGNOSED WITH SARCOPTIC MANGE - TREATED - THEN PUT BACK OUTSIDE IN THE YARD WITH MANGE, NO HAIR AND A FROZEN WATER BOWL - LEFT TO DIE -WHILE HIS YARD MATE PREYED ON HIS WEAKNESS - SARCOPTIC MANGE IS CONTAGIOUS WHY PUT YOUR ILL DOG AROUND ANOTHER? WHO HAD THEN BEEN AT RISK AS WELL) -
"This dog was removed from a Queens property by private persons this past Friday Dec. 18th.
What you see is not ONLY mange ... the dog is being forced to live in a crawl space under a porch. This is what he looked like AFTER he had been bathed TWICE!
The people who tried to rescue him took him to a vet. A neighbor lady told the owner where the dog was and was threatened with jail by the owner of dog. She got scared and now the vet's hands are tied.
ASPCA told the vet NOT to tell the people who took the dog from the property any info. The vet did say that the dog was going back to the owner! (ASPCA's doing) Apparently, at some point, I don't know when, a visit was made to property by animal control - and the owner was told to take the dog to the vet.
Also, his REAL NAME IS NOT JUSTICE! We do not know his real name yet. The people who tried to save him, named him Justice because they wanted justice for him. This dog needs publicity! The dog is so weak he is weaving and can barely sit up.
JUSTICE WAS PICKED UP BY HIS OWNER THIS MORNING (Dec 21) --- from the VETERINARIAN OFFICES.
CALL THE NY ASPCA - 212-876-7700 - and ask them how they can green light animal abuse." - anonymous
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