Shelter warns: Avoid 'free to good home' ads
BY JAMIE ROMM Staff Writer
There is nothing Ursula Goetz loves more than a litter of cute, cuddly kittens.

Ursula Goetz and a shelter cat

So when stories come out about animal cruelty, she wonders why people don't just put their pets up for adoption at a shelter as opposed to giving them away for free through newspaper ads.

"Many times, ads like that lead to pets being brought into bad situations," Goetz said. "Do not give your pet to someone you don't know. Bring it to a shelter.Do not give up your pet without a contract."

Goetz suggested that people should take their unwanted pets to shelters, like the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MCSPCA), so that they can place them in homes that are safe.

Goetz, executive director of theMCSPCA in Eatontown, commented this week on the investigation into animal abuse charges involving an Aberdeen man that were reported to the shelter.

According to a press release from the MCSPCA, its Humane Law Enforcement chief, Victor "Buddy"Amato, has chargedAnthonyAppolonia, 48, of Aberdeen, with one count of indictable animal cruelty on Dec. 21.

Appolonia is currently being held in the Monmouth County jail, Freehold Township, after being arrested by Amato, who was the arresting officer.

The case is nowunder the jurisdiction of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, according toAmato.

According to First Assistant Prosecutor Peter Warshaw, Appolonia was arraigned onDec. 24 in front of Judge John Colonnina and bail has been set at $105,000.

Warshaw said he did not know if Appolonia had selected a lawyer to represent him. He added that no date has been set for Appolonia to appear in front of a grand jury.

Appolonia is accused of killing 14 cats he acquired through answering ads in local newspapers placed by individuals "offering free cats and kittens to good homes."

He then reportedly admitted to torturing the animals before killing them.

According to Amato, after physically harming them, Appolonia would take kittens and drown themin the toilet bowl or, if the cat were larger, he would use the bathtub.

TheMCSPCAofficial said hewas tipped off to the abuse by a neighborwho had seen Appolonia mistreat an injured cat.

When the MCSPCA learns of an instance of animal cruelty, Amato will visit the home, as was the case withAppolonia.

After the tip, the MCSPCA stepped in and, according toAmato,Appoloniamade a statement that was taped in which he allegedly admitted to torturing the cats and kittens and killing them afterward, Amato said. At first, when confronted byAmato,Appolonia said he had given the cats away, but he subsequently admitted to the crimes, the MCSPCAofficial said.

The abuses are alleged to have occurred over the past nine weeks in Appolonia's apartment in theKentGardenApartments inAberdeen.

The animal cruelty charges thatAppolonia faces are fourth-degree crimes, the lowest level of indictable crime in New Jersey, Amato said.

They carry a maximum penalty of 18 months in prison and a $10,000 fine.

To prevent the type of animal abuse uncovered by the MCSPCA's investigation, Goetz said that people should not put ads in newspapers that advertise "free pets to good homes" but instead should take them to local shelters.

"Shelters keep these animals safe and alive,"Goetz said. "Theywill staywith them until a proper home is found."

That advice applies to older pets, aswell, she said.

"People have to understand that bringing a pet into your home is a commitment to a life," Goetz said. "If you have any reason beyond your control that you can no longer care for your pet, then call your local shelter."

When a person applies to adopt a pet at the MCSPCA, they go through a screening process. According to the Web site, the process includes filling out an adoption survey, an interview with an adoption counselor, and signing a contract. "We only do adoptions in person and request that all family members come also," the Web site states.

She said that shelters guarantee that they will take in the pet and that people need to be patient with the process.

Sometimes, she said, there are so many cats and kittens brought into shelters that people are put on awaiting list, but the shelter guarantees that the pet will be adoptable.

"When a pet is brought into a home that is taken froman ad that says 'free pets,' you have to stop and think,"Goetz said. "If these people cannot afford to pay to adopt a pet, are they in a position to pay for the needs of the pet?"

She said that if people do not have the money to adopt a pet, but still want to be around animals, they should volunteer at a local shelter where they can walk dogs and help groom the animals.

The shelter charges fees for adoption to help pay for vaccinations, or if the pet needs to spayed or neutered, or for grooming costs.

"The public tends to not think about where the funding is coming from," Goetz said. "Someone needs to provide for these animals."

She said that sometimes pets go from family to family and because of that, their attitudes can change.

"Ahappy-go-lucky puppy can bewonderful," Goetz said. "But if passed on from different

owners, they can start to have a different behavior. The animal could be just left chained outside alone in the doghouse in the cold, and the happiness will turn into a sad pet."

According to the Web site, the enforcement division headed by Amato works to prevent animal cruelty in many different ways.

The shelter's Humane Law Enforcement Division investigates more than 900 animal cruelty complaints every year, ranging fromcases of dogs starved by their owners to puppies thrown in dumpsters and left to die, theWeb site states

Through the efforts of the division, the animals are rescued, medical attention is provided, and new homes are found.

"Most importantly, those who caused the suffering of these helpless animals are brought to justice," the Web site states.

Goetz compared the charges againstAppolonia to a case in Passaic in August in which amanwas chargedwith three counts of animal cruelty for torturing his three pit bulls and entering them in dog fights.

Animal cruelty was in the national spotlight in December, when professional football playerMichael Vickwas found guilty on federal charges of cruelty to animals and running a dog-fighting ring in his house as well as killing and torturing them.

He was sentenced to 23 months in jail.

Goetz said that she has been angered by these instances of animal cruelty and most recently byAppolonia.

"People like this man, if found guilty, should be put away in jail for life," Goetz said. "Most mass murderers first maimed and killed their pets and then moved on to killing people. Keep him away in jail before he gets to that step."