March 6, 2009

One Jersey City resident's lost cat wound up getting dumped in a swampy city park this week, allegedly by two animal control officers who were supposed to deliver the cat to a shelter. (ZT Pet News Photo Courtesy of Morgan Meitus)

Animal Control Dumps Lost Cat in City Park: Not only did 2-year-old Daisy survive the bewildering outdoor world, the indoor tabby cat did so during the season's worst winter storm, which blanketed the region with nearly 12-inches of snow earlier this week.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- Morgan Meitus' lost cat is now safe and sound, but she wants to know how her tabby wound up in a marshy city park -- and why a city animal control officer allegedly dumped her there in the first place.

Meitus already partially understands the "how" component of the story: Jersey City Animal Control officer John Ross has confessed to her that he picked up the runaway cat and deposited it in the swamplands.

Now she wants to know why an animal control officer would break protocol in the first place, placing her 2-year-old cat in harm's way.

"This is bewildering to me," Meitus said. "I would never think that animal control would dump someone's pet like this."

Two animal control officers have now been suspended from the field, as a city investigation of the incident ensues.

"It's an unfortunate incident," said Joe Frank, chief animal control officer for the city. "It shouldn't have happened in the first place. We do have a standard procedure, and that is the animals we pick up go to the Liberty Humane Society."

Meitus' indoor cat slipped out from her brownstone house last Thursday evening; by the next morning, Feb. 27, Daisy was still nowhere to be found. Meitus alerted her mother and aunt, who lives in the same building, to keep an eye out for Daisy.

Later that morning, Meitus' aunt saw animal control officers leave a next-door neighbor's house, armed with a carrier case. With Daisy still missing, Meitus sprang into action, pressing animal control to reveal potential involvement in the cat's disappearance.

"It took us a very long time to get an answer out of animal control," she said. "My mom had been going around shelters all day, seeing if Daisy had been dropped off."

When she finally got through to Ross, Meitus said, he informed her that the cat had not been taken to the Liberty Humane Society, but to a deserted area of the park, instead.

"I said, 'Why did you not take it to the shelter?' He said, 'Well, your cat was hissing at me.' It's like, well, that's what cats do when they are not happy," Meitus related. "I got quite hysterical, just wanting to find out where they put Daisy."

After learning of the cat's alleged placement -- and the officer's confession -- that afternoon, Frank set up live traps across the region where the cat was reportedly released. Days passed, and after one false claim, in which authorities caught a stray cat that wasn't Daisy, Meitus began to give up hope.

Then, on Sunday night, the snow began to fall. The region was blanketed with a late winter "nor'easter" that dropped about eight- to 13-inches of snow across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and various New England states.

"Daisy had never really been outside before, so when the snow came, I thought that that was kind of it and she wasn't going to make it. I was down there looking for two hours and it was freezing," Meitus said.

The city remained optimistic about an impending reunion; Frank says he continued to stake out the park, checking the traps frequently. Based off a veterinarian's advice, they laid out mackerel in the cages, given the fish's strong scent.

"We weren't going to give up until we found the cat," Frank said.

Frank's response to the situation went "above and beyond," said Jennifer Morrill, city spokeswoman.

"It goes to show, this is not something the department takes lightly. Let's put it that way," she said.

On early Wednesday morning, luck struck: Frank located a cat in a cage, whose description fit that of Daisy.

"I put her in my truck and we just got the heat going, and then waited for the vet to open up," he said. "She was fine."

That evening, Meitus and Daisy again met face-to-face, and the owner confirmed that this time, they got the right cat. Though enjoying all the comforts of a warm house, Daisy has yet to return to her old self, Meitus says.

"She's still pretty scared and has clearly had a bit of a rough time," Meitus said. "She isn't really bonding with the other animals."

While Meitus maintains that Ross told her he routinely places animals in parks, instead of shelters, Frank says this is the only such incident of which he has heard.

He also noted that the animal care and control services is required to deliver animals to the Liberty Humane Society, a claim the shelter confirmed to Zootoo Pet News.

"They are here daily," said Aurora Piacentino, director of operations at the shelter. "Sometimes upwards of 10 to 15 animals."

The shelter has not always maintained smooth relations with the city's animal care and control division, Piacentino admitted.

"In prior years, we have had a contentious relationship with ACC, but for the past three or four years or so, we have gotten along with them very well, and they have been cooperative," she said.

"We've had no complaints, which is why we were so surprised to hear about this as well."

Morill says the animal control officers will face "strong disciplinary action," the details of which will be revealed after the ongoing investigation concludes.

If the city is incorrect in its impression that this incident was a one-time affair, she says, she would suggest that the officers under investigation find a new line of work.

"If this guy is saying this [that he does not always bring animals to the shelter], it is so callous that I have to say, 'You don't want this job, don't do this job.' Joe [Frank] is someone who cares a lot about animals, and I know that people look at animal control as the bottom of the city, but it isn't like that," she explained.

"Most of these people are good people who do care about animals."

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