A 25-year-old area man is facing numerous charges of animal cruelty after 13 dogs were seized from his care due to alleged neglect, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced.
Derek Bussey, 25, of Asbury Park, is charged with one count of third-degree animal cruelty and 12 counts of fourth-degree animal cruelty in connection with the death of one puppy and neglect of three adult dogs and nine other puppies found on a property in Asbury Park on July 26.
On that date, the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) was alerted by the Asbury Park Police to multiple reports of an adult male dog running at large.
The adult male dog was found at a property in the city. A subsequent investigation revealed that an adult female dog was tied up in the back yard without food or water, and an another adult female dog with her ten puppies was being kept in a non-vented enclosed garage, in extreme heat, on a concrete floor with no bedding, and with no access to food and water.
The dogs were deemed in poor health, with one puppy in distress, having difficulty breathing and not moving. The dogs were taken to a local veterinary hospital where they were diagnosed and treated for flea infestation, flea allergic dermatitis and round worm exposure and dehydration. The puppy that was discovered not moving and having difficulty breathing did not survive. It was later determined that Bussey was the owner of all 13 dogs and not currently living at the residence where the dogs were being kept.
If convicted of the third-degree charge, Bussey faces a sentence of three to five years in in a New Jersey state prison.
— Edited press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office
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