After nearly four hours of work under a blazing sun, Clifton officials counted 26 dogs they had rescued from the house, including one in such poor condition it had to be taken to an animal hospital, said Deputy Fire Chief Norman Tahan.
The homeowner, Joanne Zak, was arrested on multiple counts of animal cruelty, charges that could send her to jail and slap her with thousands of dollars in fines. She remains in the Clifton jail until bail is set and paid.
The city Clifton on Thursday issued an emergency order for the cleanup in order to remove an imminent health hazard, said City Manager Al Greco.
Zak, who works for a state government social services agency, told authorities she had rescued the animals, Tahan said. It’s a claim officials found perplexing because the dogs had been kept locked in cages with several inches of feces, and they had fleas and pink-eye and were in need bathing, Tahan said.
The Princeton-based shelter she claimed to volunteer with told police they had not heard from her in a long time, said Greco.
The debris, which included empty bottles, blankets, dog food and old newspapers dating to 2003, was piled so high – near the ceiling – that firefighters, some cloaked in protective gear, had difficulty reaching the animals, who were spread throughout the house.
“It’s a horrible situation,” said John Biegel, Clifton’s health officer.
Fire and gas utility officials were alerted by neighbors Thursday of a strong gas odor emanating from the two-story Cape Cod-style house at 179 Brighton Road. When they knocked down the front door, they made the stomach-churning discovery.
Biegel said he had tried to contact Zak several days ago at the request of neighbors, but she didn’t respond.
“She said she lived in the house but neighbors said she hadn’t lived there for six months,” said Greco.
Zak refused to allow officials to clean out the place and did not want to surrender the dogs. “We felt it was a health hazard,” said Greco, explaining the city’s emergency order. “There are rodents running around the place. We are scared we may find dead dogs.”
Workers were still removing loads of debris from the home Thursday evening.
Neighbors said they saw Zak occasionally walking a single dog and sometimes two dogs. But neighbors interviewed Thursday said they never imagined that she kept more than two dozen dogs in a poorly ventilated house.
“She was a friendly lady who I’d see around walking her dog,” said Janice O’Brien, a neighbor. “We’d say hello to each other. She seemed normal. She volunteered to help out with rescuing animals. I’m shocked by this.”
Neighbors said it was hard for anyone in the neighborhood not to notice the smell that seemed to engulf the house like a toxic cloud.
“When you walked by the house, there was always a bad odor,” said Peter Korotky, a neighbor. “I just feel so bad for the animals. Those poor dogs.”
The dogs were mostly of small breeds, Chihuahua and terrier mixes.
“They are all filthy,” said Biegel.
The dogs were sent to the Clifton Animal Shelter where a veterinarian will examine them for disease and abuse, and will remain there until safe homes can be found for them, he said.
“This is the best thing that ever happened to them,” Biegel said about the rescue.
(northjersey.com - Aug 5, 2012)
