Abused animals from Rockville Centre find new homes

Most of the animals recovered from the dilapidated house at 83 Clinton Ave. have been adopted, Town of Hempstead spokeswoman Susan Trenkle-Pokalsky said this week.

Among the dogs that have found new families are 10 cocker spaniels and a papillon. Trenkle-Pokalsky added that two cocker spaniels and a black Labrador retriever are still available at the town animal shelter, and one cocker spaniel was not yet ready for adoption after giving birth to four puppies last week.

“Anyone interested in adopting these wonderful pets can call the animal shelter [in Wantagh] at (516) 785-5220,” Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray said in a press release.

Town animal control officers recovered 17 dogs from the rundown house on Jan. 12. “These wonderful dogs, with resilient spirits, are much healthier and happier thanks to the true compassion and care of the animal shelter staff,” Murray said after the rescue.

The unidentified village resident who owned the dogs forfeited ownership last week, enabling the town to take over their care and to seek new owners for them.

Rockville Centre police officers discovered the animals in the house after the manager of a Waldbaum’s in Baldwin called police, concerned about the safety of the homeowner, who had been missing from her job at the supermarket for three days. Police arrived at her house as part of a “well-being checkup.”

The woman had barricaded herself indoors and refused to come out. Officers were forced to use a backhoe to enter the house, which was filth-ridden and contained more than a dozen neglected dogs and the carcasses of four dead dogs and a dead cat.

Town animal control officers took the sickly animals to the town’s shelter. The 62-year-old occupant of the house was taken to Mercy Medical Center for medical and psychological evaluation. Although her case was submitted to the Nassau County district attorney’s office, she was not charged.

Two days after the incident at Clinton Avenue, a mother and daughter living at 14 Montauk Ave. were arrested after village police and animal control officers found 16 neglected dogs and cats and 24 dead animals in their rented home. The women — Faith Ross, 54, and Francesca Maselli, 23 — were charged with three felony counts of animal cruelty and 15 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty. They are each being held on $95,000 cash bail and could face up to two years in prison.

The Town of Hempstead also placed those pets —14 dogs and two cats — on the adoption list. All but one dog from the Montauk Avenue house has been adopted, Trenkle-Pokalsky said.

“These animals are beautiful and will hopefully find better homes,” she said of the pets recovered from both homes. “They deserve it.”

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