Manhattan students raised enough money through bake sales to save a pit bull.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer recognized students and staff from the Stephen Gaynor School in the Upper West Side today for raising money to save the life of pit pull terrier Misty.

Less than a year old, Misty was left badly injured on a Brooklyn street corner after being used as bait to train fighting dogs.

Her rescuers set up a Facebook page for the dog, which the students, ages 10 to 12, noticed.

Their bake sales raised more than $650 to pay for Misty’s veterinary costs.

The post Upper West Side students raise bake-sale money to save pit bull appeared first on Metro.us.

America’s rarest pig, the mulefoot hog, is now at the Queens Zoo farm.

The trio of female mulefoot hogs living at the zoo represent fewer than 200 members of a once vibrant breed.

Listed as critically rare by the American Livestock Breeds Conservatory, the hairy black pigs feature the solid hoof of a mule, rather than the typical pig’s cloven hoof.

This characteristic, a mutation found in some pigs, keeps mulefoot hogs free of foot rot, which made them desirable for early American farmers in the Midwest.

Farmers bred mulefoot hogs in the late 1800s to create a hardy forager that would produce quality ham, the conservatory said.

Slow Food USA noted that the shift in the late 1900s to feeding hogs in pens rather than the field changed the qualities farmers looked for in pigs and began the decline of the mulefoot.

The post Queens Zoo welcomes very rare three little pigs appeared first on Metro.us.

A shocking report from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute found that cats kill far more animals than was previously believed – a potentially genocidal four billion birds and 20 billion mammals a year in the US alone.

We spoke to lead researcher Dr. Scott Lost.

Metro: Which cats are the biggest killers and why?

Lost: We estimate that un-owned cats including barn cats, stray cats, cats in subsidized colonies, and cats that are completely feral are responsible for 69% of bird mortality and 89% of mammal mortality. The predation rates by this group average three times greater than rates for owned cats.

How many kills might a pet cat make in a year?

The best available data suggests that owned cats kill between 4 and 18 birds and 11 and 30 mammals per year. This is before accounting for prey items that cat owners and researchers are unable to detect, so the numbers are probably higher. Un-owned cats – because they spend 100% of their time outdoors – kill far more animals: 23-46 birds and 140-330 mammals per year, on average.

But we know cats are predators – why should we worry?

In the United States there are no native predators that are comparable to domestic cats; thus, cats represent a novel predator and threat to wildlife. The data suggests that native bird and mammal species – as opposed to ‘pests’ – make up the majority of the species preyed upon by cats. More research is needed to determine which species are most vulnerable to cats, but these should be a wildlife management priority.

What steps could/should be taken to reduce the killing?

We hope that the large amount of wildlife mortality indicated by our research alerts policy makers, wildlife managers, and scientists to the large magnitude of this problem.

The post Is your cat a mass murderer? appeared first on Metro.us.

But as the Nature Conservancy reminds us, no matter how fast, strong, or agile Team USA athletes prove to be, they are still pretty much no match at all for wild animals.

In an effort to bring awareness to planet protection, the Nature Conservancy put Olympic athletes head to head with the abilities of wild beasts. And in each instance, nature wins. Take a look at these real-life man vs. wild comparisons.

Michael Phelps Vs. Bluefin Tuna

Phelps may have super-human speed in the pool, but he is still no match for one of nature’s best swimmers. The Bluefin Tuna, found off the coast of Long Island, can reach speeds of up to 60 mph. Phelps taps out at about 6 mph in the water.

Usain Bolt Vs. Cheetah

Even the fastest man in the world can’t compete with the fastest animal in the world. The cheetah can run 71 mph for more than 300 yards. Bolt clocks in at 28 miles per hour over 110 yards. Impressive, but no match for nature.

Roger Federer Vs. White-handed Gibbon

Federer is plenty quick on his feet for a tennis player, bolting back and forth across the court to lunge at every serve. But the White-handed Gibbons, a primate, is far more agile with its ability to fling itself up to 50 feet between branches.

Kerri Walsh Vs. Mountain Lion

Nobody can argue that Walsh’s 47 inch vertical on the sand volleyball court isn’t astounding — nobody, that is, except the mountain lion. The wildcat has Walsh beat big time in the jump department with an unmatched 15 foot vertical.

The post A Bluefin Tuna can swim faster than Michael Phelps appeared first on Metro.us.

The photos, which were taken a  year ago, caused a firestorm among animal rights activists after they ended up in a slideshow posted on YouTube. In one photo seen in the video below, Donald Trump Jr. smiles as he holds up a tail that appears to have been cut from an elephant. The brothers can be seen posing in front of the bodies of a crocodile, a kudu, a civet cat and a water buck.   

PETA was quick to lash out at the Trumps, telling E! News, “If the young Trumps are looking for a thrill, perhaps they should consider skydiving, bungee jumping, or even following in their anti-hunting father’s footsteps and taking down competing businesses — not wild animals.”

Today, Donald Jr. took to Twitter to defend himself.

“I’m a hunter, for that I make no apologies,” he tweeted. He later added, “I can assure you it was not wasteful the villagers were so happy for the meat which they don’t often get to eat.”

In response to one Twitter user’s criticism of the photo of him with the elephant tail, Trump said, “The villagers did that as part of their tradition. I went along with it they thought it was a cool pic. Take it up w them.”

(via TMZ)

The post PHOTOS: Donald Trump’s sons pose with dead African animals appeared first on Metro.us.

In anticipation of the Discovery Channel’s “Frozen Planet,” which premiers March 18, Seaworld San Diego has installed a camera inside its penguin exhibit, home to 300 flightless tuxedoed birds.

The cam offers a 24/7 look into the life of penguin and let us tell you — there’s not a single dull moment! We’ve been mesmerized by penguin cam for the past 30 minutes, watching them wobble around and quack at each other… sometimes walking right up to the camera as if they wish to offer us a personal “hello!”

If penguins weren’t your favorite arctic creatures before this, they will be now.   

Live Video app for Facebook by Ustream

The post Watch this live penguin cam — now! appeared first on Metro.us.

Here are 10 of the best pet costumes we found floating around the web, posted by proud pet owners.

A dog dressed up as a human baby… yep, adorable!

It’s always adorable to dress up an animal as a different animal–
especially dressing up a dog as a ferocious member of the feline family.

There is nothing cuter than a cat pumpkin turkey.

The only things dogs love more than hats… are goggles.

One pug wanted to be a crab, but their owner decided on matching costumes to make it fair.

Express your love of public transportation through your pet.

We’re not sure what this is (sea anemone?), but it’s adorable!

What can make a dog’s lady bug costume even cooler? Sunglasses.

Take advantage of your pet’s natural features! Just add a balloon!

Confusing at first glance. Is that.. a bird? No.. it’s a plane. Oh wait, it’s a dog dressed up as Superman.
 

The post 10 great costumes you’ll love (but your pet will hate) appeared first on Metro.us.

This lobster is more than 70 years old and was living in the wild until a few weeks ago when it was caught off the coast of Canada. After it was shipped to San Francisco, a seafood distributor granted the lobster a pardon and started looking for its new home.

“When we saw that ad for an 18-pound American lobster, we knew we had to have it,” said Jon Forrest Dohlin, Wildlife Conservation Society vice president and director of the New York Aquarium.

Though far from the largest lobster in the world, this crustacean is the largest ever to live at the aquarium.

“He’s a magnificent creature that has been delighting our guests since his arrival,” said Dohlin.

The lobster, which has yet to be named (we’re hoping for Dr. Claw), eats about three-quarters of a pound of shrimp and fish a day. You can visit him Sea Cliffs exhibit.

The post 18 pound lobster finds new home in New York appeared first on Metro.us.

1-year-old Biru just joined the Central Park Zoo. He will share the Temperate Territory with his female companion, Amaya.

Red pandas are endangered because of habitat loss caused by deforestation for timber, fuel and agricultural use, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society. Less than 2,500 red pandas are still in the wild.

Biru is part of the “Species Survival Plan” by the The Bronx, Prospect Park and Central Park Zoos.

You can visit Biru everyday from 10 am to 5:30 pm at the Central Park Zoo.

The post Welcome, Biru: Central Park Zoo gets a new red panda appeared first on Metro.us.

According to the Guardian, Ryan Goodwin of Plymouth, England admitted to animal cruelty after he hurled the cage of Kaya, his girlfriend’s fluffy friend, out the window of his first-floor apartment, killing the hamster upon impact.

His girlfriend, Sarah Symons, was reportedly on the phone with police as the incident happened, emitting screams of horror.

The prosecutor told the court that Goodwin was dangling Kaya, which he had previously threatened to feed to a friend’s snake, out of the window in her cage.

Then he said, “here, catch this,” counted to three and dropped the cage.

Goodwin was given an eight-week prison sentence, suspended for one year. By his court date, he had already reconciled with Symons and was living with her again. Goodwin was also banned from owning animals for the next seven years, which means the couple will have to get ride of their dog, Tyson. No word on how the couple plans to do that…

“I am remorseful. It was in the heat of the moment. We are all in relationships and we do crazy things for love. And I do love her very much,” said Goodwin. “It was a moment of madness.”

A moment of madness indeed. Honestly, who throws a hamster?

The post Man let off easy for murder of girlfriend’s hamster appeared first on Metro.us.

One moment cleaning up emu droppings and the next making baby talk to a Fennec fox running circles around her, LaMattina is tailor-made for the job of acclimating 300 animals to human contact for the Bronx Zoo’s outreach programs in New York. In fact, she often takes them home with her overnight.

What did you first do when you got into work?

First I checked on all the animals and said ‘hi’ to my zookeepers to make sure everything was OK. Then I played with Buckley, a wallaby that I hand-raised after his mother tried to eat him.

Wallabies eat their young?

He was probably just bitten as she was trying to get him out of her pouch. It’s very energy inexpensive to give birth to a kangaroo or wallaby, but to actually raise the baby takes a long time. So if she’s not feeling well, the mother decides to focus on herself. It happens in the wild.

So what did you do after you played with the wallaby?

I had to bring an owl in for a surgical procedure. He has a tumor on his foot. He came here in 1994, the same year that I came, actually. We take care of animals from the cradle to the grave.

Are you a vegetarian?

For 31 years.

Do you think most people are who work here?

They’re all carnivores! But I don’t preach. I cook meat for my mom. Can you believe it — she actually asked me what emus taste like?

The post In a day’s work at Bronx Zoo appeared first on Metro.us.

Anomalocaridids — soft-jointed monsters sporting pointy backs of flexible blades and mouths full of sharp teeth — sat at the top of the food chain for millions of years longer than previously thought, scientists say following the discovery of remains dating back to the early Ordovician era. It was previously thought the creatures had died out toward the end of the Cambrian age.

What’s more, the newly discovered specimens are a lot larger than their longer-lived cousins: 3 feet long, to be exact.

“The Moroccan specimens are the largest anomalocaridids known to date,” said paleontologist Peter Van Roy.

The post Ancient sea monster no shrimp appeared first on Metro.us.

“Animal stories always have exerted a universal appeal, not just on New Yorkers,” said Anthony Mancini, director of Brooklyn College’s journalism program. “They relieve the reader’s mind from tales of bipedal animals like Charlie Sheen and Glenn Beck.”

At any given time, there are nearly 4,000 people watching The New York Times’ “Hawk Cam,” which watches over the nest of Bobby and Violet, a pair of red-tail hawks outside the office of New York University’s president.

“We live in such an urban environment that we appreciate the bits of nature that we can get,” said teacher Dana Levy, 27, of Brooklyn.

The tale of the escaped Bronx Zoo cobra, Mia, caught readers’ attention for over a week; the faux Twitter account created to lampoon the incident now claims 241,834 followers.

Meanwhile, the castaway kitten on Governors Island is still making news.  

“New Yorkers aren’t as sophisticated as they think,” said psychoanalyst Jonathan Alpert. “In a city that’s filled with noise, chaos and stress, these wonders of nature bring a feeling of calm and allow New Yorkers to escape, even if it’s just for a minute.”

Follow Emily Anne Epstein on Twitter @EmilyatMetro.

The post Birds and bees, please: City’s obsession with wildlife appeared first on Metro.us.

A total of six whale species have been spotted from Long Island to New York Harbor, scientists announced yesterday.

Whales have been known to surface near New York, but it wasn’t until researchers submerged sound recorders off Long Island in 2008 that they found out how many and how often whales are found just off Lower Manhattan.

“I was completely shocked,” said Christopher Clark, director of the Bioacoustics Research Program at Cornell, who studies whale sounds. “Off New York, we’ve found that we have some of the greatest animals on earth.”

Centuries ago, Long Islanders hunted whales for oil, Clark said, and in the 19th century, they swam underneath what’s now the George Washington Bridge. Today, Clark said, New Yorkers could stand on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and look down on a present-day active whale habitat.

Fin whales are the most predominant in the area,  he said, but blue whales and right whales have also passed through New York waters. A community of fin whales has made the shoreline near Long Island their home, said Clark.

Scientists tracked the guttural, squealing sounds of whales as they passed sensors fanning out from Jones Beach.

One blue whale swam steadily past Long Island about 60 miles from the shore.

“The whale was closer than I ever expected,” Clark said.

Follow Alison Bowen on Twitter @AlisonatMetro.

The post A whale of a neighbor moves to NY appeared first on Metro.us.

Tom Otterness is known for his quirky projects around the city, including bronze sculptures at the 14th Street A/C/E station.

This spring, he was commissioned $750,000 by an anonymous donor to sculpt bronze lions at the Battery Park City branch of the New York Public Library.

But some say one of his previous works should not be forgotten.

In 1977, Otterness, then 25, filmed killing a dog he adopted from a shelter. The  flick, “Shot Dog Film,”  showed Otterness shoot the small black and white pound dog, killing it, after he chained it to a fence.

Since then, Otterness has repeatedly apologized. But that’s not good enough for some.

“Otterness’ new work won’t be one that PETA members will be rushing to see,” said Colleen O’Brien, a PETA spokeswoman. “Any man who would adopt a dog and then film himself shooting the animal needs a good psychiatrist — not another art show.”

Follow Alison Bowen on Twitter at @AlisonatMetro.

The post Tom Otterness: Paying price for shooting dog, calling it ‘art’ appeared first on Metro.us.

Although the amount of stray, abused and surrendered animals remains high (more than 41,000 animals entered Animal Care & Control last year), what is the reason for this phenomenal 41 percent drop in deaths?

You can thank the Internet.

Sites like Pet Finder and Pet Tango — searchable databases of adoptable pets —have revolutionized pet adoption the same way Match.com has changed the way people date.

Gone are the guilt-ridden days of visiting an overwhelmed city shelter to pick out a dog or cat from a line-up of hundreds of desperate, unfamiliar animals. Now you can see pictures, learn about their history and temperament and even watch videos of prospective dogs and cats from the comfort of your own home.

“I can say a dog doesn’t have issues until I’m blue in the face, but people are still skeptical,” says Siobhan Healy, coordinator of Animal Care and APO oversight for the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals. “But I post a video of the dog playing nicely with another dog, and that dog is adopted 10 times faster. “

Healy says the power of Twitter and Facebook have also helped drum up interest, especially for their various adoption events. “Many times, I meet people who I wouldn’t otherwise because they saw a friend post a photo of an adoptable dog or cat on Facebook and it piqued their interest enough to come meet them.

Can the Internet save Angel?

Last Saturday, writer Brent Cox found a scared, beaten and bleeding pit bull puppy wandering in traffic in Ditmas Avenue. After being turned away from two no-kill shelters, Cox took to posting about “Mystery Dog” on his blog, www.titivil.tumblr.com. With the aid of Twitter, the blog circulated and Cox estimated he received around “Fifteen e-mails of people who were interested in helping him.“ Noting that Mystery Dog was most likely “bait” for a dog-fighting concern, Cox said, “He’s a little bit anxious, like he’s never seen the world before but has exhibited no aggression.”

"Mystery Dog"

Mystery Dog is currently residing at Earth Angels, a no-kill shelter located in the Bronx, who have renamed him Angel. But as Cox posted on his blog: “I am not satisfied with this outcome. If anyone, you, your friends, your wealthy relatives (best!) is at all interested in this most awesome dog whom I already miss like air, get at me.”

Interested in helping Angel? Go to www.earthangelsnyc.org. Or maybe even post this on Facebook? You never know.

Follow Dorothy Robinson on Twitter at @DorothyatMetro.

The post Pet adoption websites connect animal lovers appeared first on Metro.us.

Sources close to FOX5 New York say the Bronx Zoo cobra, missing since Friday, has been found.

The 20-inch Egyptian cobra’s escapades have provided plenty of fun for the Internet all week, inspiring a humorous Twitter feed with 203,000 followers, dry Onion articles and plenty of fun in-character interviews.

The Twitter feed has not as yet been updated to reflect the news; its last post, from 2 p.m. today, quipped, "If you see a bag of peanuts inexplicably moving along the ground at Yankee Stadium today. Just ignore it. It’s probably nothing."

We’re as sad as anyone to see this week-long Internet festival come to an end, but at least we’ll taker solace in this: With Metro’s guide to staying safe from the snake, the next time a slithery fugitive terrorizes the city, we’ll be ready.

The post Stop the presses! The Bronx Zoo cobra was caught! appeared first on Metro.us.

“These animals lived in wire cages and received very little if any human contact,” Jamie Berger, of the Hamptons-based Animal Rescue Fund told Metro. “The females were forced to reproduce without the proper amount of time between breeding cycles.”

The Animal Rescue Fund worked closely with Utah’s Best Friends Animal Society to rescue the pups from large Midwestern breeding compounds. They brought the dogs to Long Island for adoption and to educate the public on the horrors of puppy mills.

“The dogs will be available for adoption in one to three weeks,” said Berger. “They have to be checked by a veterinarian, spayed and neutered.”

The rescued dogs were deemed “unsalable” by the puppy mill owners because their breeds are no longer popular with the public, or because a few are mixed breeds. The mill owners contacted the Utah organization, which then contacted ARF.

“We picked up the dogs at a drop-off site  in Armonk on Tuesday night,” said Berger. “These are the lucky dogs, because they got out of the puppy mills.”

The post Rescue group takes in 33 dogs from puppy mills appeared first on Metro.us.

Officials said they might not find the cobra for days — or even weeks. “Right now, it’s the snake’s game,” said zoo director James Breheny.

Breheny said the zoo’s plan is to be patient, and reiterated confidence that the snake was somewhere in the Reptile House.

The post Missing snake still slithering appeared first on Metro.us.

Hunters shot 2,991 deer in 2010, up about 200 more from the 2009 total of 2,777. And the state DEC is thrilled to hear it.

“Deer hunters play a crucial role, benefiting all New Yorkers by helping to maintain deer numbers at levels that are ecologically and socially appropriate. We appreciate their participation,” DEC Commissioner Joe Martens said in a statement.

Deer hunting season runs from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31.

The post More deer killed during 2010 season appeared first on Metro.us.

Brooklyn resident Angelo Monderoy, 20, was found guilty on March 8 after he doused Scruffy with lighter fluid and set the animal on fire in 2008.

The cat needed to be euthanized after the horrific attack, but prosecutors were able to use a sample of burnt tissue from the crime scene, which matched the cat’s DNA.

In 2009, Manhattan resident Lordtyshon Garrett, 33, beat another cat, Madea, so badly with an umbrella he caused its lungs to collapse. The creature died.

Prosecutors nailed Garrett for the crime using the cat’s tooth marks found on the umbrella, which were matched to DNA from the cat’s body.

Garrett faces up to two years in prison.

“DNA as a forensic tool is a groundbreaking development,” said Dr. Robert Reisman, medical coordinator of animal cruelty cases at the ASPCA. “It will aid tremendously in bringing animal abusers to justice.”

Follow Carly Baldwin on Twitter at @CarlyatMetro.

The post Animal abusers put in jail thanks to DNA evidence appeared first on Metro.us.

Patricia Horan, former director of the Hempstead Town Animal Shelter, was reassigned to a “general services” job, Hempstead Town spokesman Mike Deery said, and will continue to collect a nearly six-figure salary.

The 17-year-old video shows Horan and employees laughing, making obscene gestures and sticking a cat with a pole while someone shouts, “Kill the kitty!”  

“It’s horrific treatment of animals,” fumed Derek Donnelly, director of Hope For Hempstead Shelter. “Patricia Horan should be fired, not reassigned and collecting a fat paycheck that taxpayers are paying.”

In December, three shelter volunteers filed a lawsuit against the shelter after they were banned from the facility. They said they were punished for complaining about animals’ mistreatment, and they want money — and to be allowed back on shelter property.

“The shelter has a lot of problems, and instead of addressing them, they ban the people from the premises who question why despicable things are going on there,” said Steve Morelli, a Garden City lawyer representing the three volunteers.

Deery told Metro they are investigating the video and searching for a new director.

No plans to prosecute

The Nassau County District Attorney’s office said the video is too old to prompt prosecution. 

The office released a statement urging Long Islanders to report animal abuse early, to avoid situations like the video of animal abuse at the shelter, where “criminal prosecution is entirely barred by a statute of limitations.”

The post Animal shelter head under fire after Web video appeared first on Metro.us.

The one-minute long YouTube video shows employees making obscene gestures and sticking a cat with a pole while an off-camera voice says “Kill the kitty!”

Horan does not face any criminal charges in the matter.

The video is below:

The post Shelter director reassigned after YouTube video appeared first on Metro.us.

Since the hot line was launched, 16 animal cruelty cases have been prosecuted, a dramatic increase from an average of two prosecutions per year in previous years.

The unit has fielded more than 700 complaints, said Rice at a news conference at the Animal Lovers League in Glen Cove yesterday.

“It’s important that we treat these cases with the seriousness they deserve,” said Rice.

If you suspect an animal is being abused, call the animal cruelty tip hot line at (516) 680-8624. 

The post Animal abuse prosecutions up in LI appeared first on Metro.us.

Despite efforts from staffers at the Riverhead Foundation and numerous Facebook friends rooting for him, the 35-pound seal, known as “Ozzy,” died of infection. He showed signs of a compromised liver. Biologists think the seal was harassed by onlookers before being rescued. 

The post Montauk seal dies appeared first on Metro.us.

Warner’s two-bedroom home at 36 Malba Dr. was knee-deep in feces and animal carcasses. Meanwhile, chickens, a chinchilla and even rats roamed free. A baby bull lived in the sunroom. What, many wonder, was he thinking?

“Hoarding is a mental illness where individuals feel extreme anxiety with the idea of parting with objects or animals,” Dr. Andrea Macari, a Great Neck-based clinical psychologist told Metro. “Typically, hoarders have a perverse sense of concern for the animals or objects that they hoard.”

The home Warner shared with his fiancee and the 87-year-old homeowner, Concetta Gigliani, who exhibited signs of dementia, has been condemned. He will likely face animal cruelty charges when he is scheduled to appear in court on April 21.

Warner and his fiancee are currently staying with friends at an undisclosed location and Gigliani is being evaluated at an area hospital.

“We seized ducks, rabbits, goats, pet mice and rats, cats, dogs, pigeons, a cow, a baby bull, a chinchilla and a pig from the residence. Most of the animals were malnourished and most of them have health issues,” SPCA supervisor Roy Gross told Metro.

It was one of the worse cases we’ve ever seen,” he continued.

“As horrific as the conditions were in Alan’s house, more than likely it was better for him psychologically to live in that filth than deal with the stress of being separated from the animals,” said Macari.

‘The smell was awful’

Councilman Daniel Panico was alerted about the animal hoarding by Paul Coraci, a concerned neighbor who lived in the rear of the house. 

“I went to Paul’s house on Sunday,” Councilman Daniel Panico told Metro. “The smell was awful; I took some pictures. There was a cow living in the sunroom. I immediately contacted the proper authorities. It’s a very sad situation.”

The post Sickness: Going inside the mind of an animal hoarder appeared first on Metro.us.

“The animal has a respiratory infection and a few fractured ribs,” Robert DiGiovanni, senior biologist at the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research, told Metro. “The baby seal is still in the critical stages, which can last anywhere from six to eight weeks.”

Our goal is to return it to the wild,” he continued. “One of our concerns is the animal’s diet; we are trying to match the mother’s milk with a gruel high in fish oil that we are feeding him by tube.”

The seal pup, which has not been given a nickname yet by the biologists, eats every three to four hours. He spends most of his time sleeping in between recovering in a hospital tank.

Seals have been making a comeback to the waters off Long Island in recent years, said DiGiovanni, and today can be found all the way from Montauk to Queens.

Seal encounters

If you do happen to see a seal on Long Island beaches, remember to remain 50 feet back — it’s the law. “These animals are not aggressive but they are protected. Don’t touch them; call our 24-hour rescue hot line number and we’ll take care of it,” said DiGiovanni. Riverhead Foundation’s hot line is 631-369-9829.

The post Baby seal found on Montauk beach appeared first on Metro.us.

Town Councilman Anthony Santino told Metro the town “is in the process of a legal proceeding to take ownership of the animals from Faith Ross and her daughter. It should take about 10 days. Once that is finalized, the animals will be available for adoption at the town of Hempstead Animal Shelter.”

Several of the dogs had their mouths duct-taped shut, while others were living in cages filled halfway with feces.

“There was a report foul odors coming from the home,” said Jeff Kluewer, spokesperson for the
village of Rockville Centre. “When the officers arrived on the scene, they smelled gas and heard dogs barking and yelping inside. There was no one home, so the landlord let the officers in.”

Six Chihuahuas, three dachshunds, a Yorkshire terrier, a shih tzu, an English bulldog, a boxer and two cats were taken to the Town of Hempstead Animal Control and Shelter in Wantaugh for examination and treatment by a vet before being cleaned and groomed. One dog was taken directly to an animal hospital for emergency care.

Charged

Faith Ross, 54, a secretary for an alarm company, and her daughter Francesca Marie Maselli, 23, a nursing home aide, were each charged with three felony accounts of animal cruelty and 15 related misdemeanor accounts.

Officers found abused animals and the badly decomposed carcasses of 26 animals — also including ferrets and birds — buried beneath clutter, garbage and animal waste two feet deep inside the home at 14 Montauk Ave.

The post Rescued animals await nicer owners appeared first on Metro.us.