New Jersey: Linda Wilferth, 57, who runs Catnip Friends Rescue, takes plea deal in cruelty case

Why we need to scrutinize anyone who runs a non-profit rescue and brags about pulling animals from "kill" shelters. According to tax records, Wilferth managed to get more than $80,000 in donations for her rescue in 2014. Where is the money going? Is anyone keeping track of these animals they pull from shelters and proof that they are actually finding homes for them??

Catnip Friends Cat Rescue Inc
Flemington, New Jersey
EIN: 26-1687705

ADDRESS: 203 MAIN STREET NO 137, 08822-1680

IN CARE OF NAME: LINDA WILFERTH

TAX PERIOD: 12/2014

INCOME AMOUNT: $81,796.00


NEW JERSEY -- The owner of a New Jersey-based pet rescue group accepted a plea agreement Thursday in connection with cruelty charges in the death of a dog.

Linda Wilferth, 57, of Phillipsburg runs Catnip Friends Rescue in the Flemington area.

Wilferth appeared in municipal court on Thursday to answer to two charges of failing to provide an animal with necessary care — one charge was civil and one was criminal. Before trial began, she accepted a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to the civil charge, a court administrator confirmed.

The criminal charge, a disorderly persons offense punishable by up to $1,000, and up to six months in jail or community service, was dropped. Wilferth was ordered to pay a $500 fine and court costs, which came to $33.

A call to the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' hotline prompted an investigation in November into the online purchase of a dog that later became sick and died.

"NJSPCA's investigation revealed that Wilferth sold a dog for $500 to a consumer," Col. Frank Rizzo, superintendent of the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' law enforcement division, said in a press release in December when the charges were announced.

A few days later the dog became ill and its owner returned the dog to Wilferth, Rizzo said. "Wilferth knowingly took the sick dog back into her possession and failed to provide any veterinary care," he said. "The dog died the following day."

Catnip Friends operates online, said New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals spokesman Matt Stanton, but the person who purchased the dog returned it to Wilferth in Flemington. That's why the charges were filed in Flemington Municipal Court, Stanton said.

(NJ.com - Feb 2, 2016)

Earlier:

• Linda Wilferth, 57, who runs Catnip Friends Rescue, charged with animal cruelty