Frozen Puppy Owners To Face Charges

A CBS 2 Exclusive Report

Jan 13, 2004 7:47 am US/Eastern
FREEHOLD, N.J. (CBS) Animal cruelty charges will be filed against the dog owners who left their animals outside to freeze to death in last weekend's frigid temperatures. CBS 2's Lou Young has the exclusive details.

At the veterinary hospital in Freehold, there is evidence of a case of animal abuse directly related to the weekend cold snap.

First the survivors. Two pit bulls the workers call frozen mom and frozen pup. Legal designations for the court case that will be filed on Tuesday. The dogs are recovering from malnutrition, pneumonia and parasite infection. The third animal was not so lucky. It's what the case is all about. The carcass of the puppy was found frozen solid. The Freehold borough police say the two surviving animals were huddled on top of the dead puppy in an uninsulated backyard cage.

I assume they were trying to keep the puppy warm, but the puppy was frozen solid when it got here. We couldn't even do an autopsy or anything,” says Kelly O’Connor of the Freehold Animal Hospital.

At the scene of the crime, Young is told the dog's owners aren't in. No further comment. The experts say a shelter that is adequate on a night like Monday won't cut it when the temperatures drop to the teens. The animals need to be indoors.

The animal abuse charges could bring fines and jail time for each of the six counts in the case.