8 shivering dogs rescued in Neptune City after being found outside in cages and covered in feces

Eight sick and injured dogs living in cages in frigid conditions outside a Neptune City apartment complex were rescued over the weekend, officials said.

Neptune City police were called to the Brighton Arms apartments on West Sylvania Avenue early Saturday after someone called 911 to report excessive barking, according to the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

When police arrived they found the dogs and puppies crammed in small crates covered only by a plastic tarp on a porch, authorities said. All were trembling from the cold – covered in urine and feces with no fo… Read the rest of this entry »

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Licitra is running for Monmouth County Freeholder

Ross Licitra can’t get elected dogcatcher, because NJ does not elect dogcatchers, but he is likely to be elected Monmouth County Freeholder in November.

The Executive Director and Chief Humane Law Enforcement Officer of the Monmouth SPCA, announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for Freeholder this afternoon via press release.

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Aaron Davis, Long Branch Man Charged With Leaving Caged Dog To Drown, Will Remain In Custody Till Trial

Aaron Davis, the Long Branch man charged with leaving River, a pit bull mix, caged on the banks of the Shrewsbury River in Highlands last month, will remain in the custody of the Monmouth County Correctional Institution pending his trail, according to a social media post by the Prosecutor’s Office.

Superior Court Judge James J. McGann ruled this afternoon that Davis, who surrendered to authorities on August 7, remain in custody. Read the rest of this entry »

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Good Samaritan in Highlands saves dog from drowning, Authorities seek information

A Good Samaritan recused a young male pit bull/mix that had been left in a cage on the shoreline of the Shrewsbury River in Highlands on Monday morning, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.

Authorities are seeking the public’s help in identifying the dog’s owner or any witnesses to the potential animal cruelty case. Please call the MCPO Animal Cruelty Hot Line 877-898-7297 or notify the Highlands Police Dept. at (732) 872-1224.

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Oh deer! Young buck saved after it got a glass bowl stuck on its head

A Monmouth County resident called for help when he noticed a young buck with its head stuck in a glass bowl wandering the woods near his home. The Colts Neck homeowner contacted his local SPCA on Thursday when he saw the deer, the Monmouth County SPCA wrote in a post on its Facebook Page. “The deer… Read the rest of this entry »

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Amato’s accuser has litigious and calamity prone history

Suzzanne DesMarais. photo via facebook

The woman suing the Monmouth County SPCA and Victor “Buddy” Amato  for harassment has a history of suing her employers for sexual harassment and work related injuries.

According to published reports and interviews, Suzzane DesMarais has won a six figure settlement, multiple workers’ compensation claims and disability pay resulting from her employment as a part-time Special Class II police officer in Long Branch and Plumsted.

She suffered two house fires in six years. After the second fire, she raised money in the name of Chaos Foundation, named for her chocolate lab that perished in the fire. The New Jersey Department of Consumer Affairs does not have a Chaos Foundation listed as a registered charity.

DesMarais, represented by the Shrewsbury law firm Shebell and Shebell, filed suit in Monmouth Superior Court on March second. The former police officer, who worked for MCSPCA as an animal control officer, claimed that Amato regularly sent her racist, sexist and homophobic text messages while she was on the job.  She claims that after she complained to Amato’s superiors that she stopped receiving work and that no corrective action was taken against Amato.  Amato resigned as the SPCA Police Chief after the suit became public through a story on BuzzFeedNews.  Garden State Equality, the gay rights advocacy group of which DesMarais is a member, claims it connected her to BuzzFeed to bring public attention to the lawsuit.

Amato seemed to verify the accuracy of the vulgar and bigoted texts revealed in the BuzzFeed report when he told the Asbury Park Press that they were “jokes between a bunch of guys.”

According to published reports and interviews, DesMarias has been down this road before.

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Monmouth SPCA Asks For Public Help In Burnt Dog Investigation

Chief Victor “Buddy” Amato of the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals (SPCA) is asking for help from the public in the investigation of a dog suspected of being burnt to death in Eatontown on Tuesday evening.

Eatontown firefighters responded to a report of smoke and possible fire in the wooded area behind the Country Club Apartments off Tinton Ave between 7:00pm and 7:30pm where they found the burning remains of what is believed to be a beagle.

The animal’s remains were taken to the Red Bank Animal Hospital were a necropsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.

Amato asks that anyone with any information about the dog call him at 732-312-7153.

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