A Rottweiler named Coco Puff is getting much-needed care after being found abandoned in squalid conditions in a New Jersey yard.
Ross Licitra, Executive Director of the Monmouth County SPCA — who currently cares for Coco Puff — told HuffPost by phone that the 3-year-old dog was found asleep on a concrete slab and attached to a railing with a very short chain leash.
He had no food or water and was probably freezing.
“She was literally exposed to the coldest, coldest day of the year,” Licitra pointed out to HuffPost. “It was brutal.”
Licitra says Coco Puff’s owners left her on Dec. 24, which was one of the coldest Christmas Eves in state history.. She was there for three days before someone called Neptune City Police and she was rescued.
“[Her owners] It would have been better if they let Coco go, which of course we never want to say,” Licitra said. “But at least Coco would have been able to find shelter or run to someone because she is an incredibly sweet and beautiful dog who is so friendly.”
SPCA of Monmouth County
Licitra told HuffPost that after speaking with the dog’s owners — Iquan Carson and Shonquel Lindsey — and their landlord, she learned the couple had to leave their home on Christmas Eve because their pipes froze and were staying at a hotel nearby. She noted that although the pair stayed nearby, they never left to check on their pet.
“They made absolutely no effort to find any kind of shelter or any kind of food or anything for Coco,” Licitra said. “They basically chained her to the railing and left. That’s all they did.”
She said Coco Puff was “scared” and “confused” when she eventually came into their care, but after medical tests determined she was not suffering from hypothermia. Blood tests showed she may have kidney stones as well as a genetic eye condition that affects her vision, according to a Facebook post by the Monmouth County SPCA. send. Licitra noted that they initially thought Coco Puff was a 10-year-old dog, but discovered after examining her teeth that she was actually much younger.
Coco Puff, who is described by the rescue as “kind, loyal and loving,” will continue to receive care at the Monmouth County SPCA, but will eventually be available for adoption.
Licitra told HuffPost that her owners, Carson and Lindsey, were charged with two counts of animal cruelty: one count of cruel confinement and one count of failure to provide adequate care.
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