New York: Tina Merecki, 48, charged with cruelty; accused of starving her two pit bulls

NEW YORK -- A woman was accused of abusing her dogs after a woman told police she saw one jump from a second-floor balcony.

Niagara Falls police went to a residence on Niagara St. in the city and saw two malnourished pit bulls, they say, According to them, one was on a lower porch and the other was on a second story balcony.

  

 

When Tina Merecki, 48, saw officers, they say she stepped outside to speak with them. She claimed that she did not know one of the dogs jumped, and that they had only been outside for about 10 minutes, according to police.

Police say Merecki brought the dogs inside, and there, they were able to get a better look at them. 

 

According to a police report, the dogs wandered “around the apartment  as if they were looking for food.” Merecki claimed that she "just" fed them.

Police were not able to find evidence of food in the apartment, they say.

  

 

Merecki was charged with two counts of “failure to provide proper sustenance” to the animals, police say. The title of the alleged crime in Agricultural and Markets Law is overdriving, torturing and injuring animals: failure to provide proper sustenance.

The dogs were taken to the Niagara County SPCA.

(WIVB - Feb 14, 2017)