Criminal charges cite dog 'torture'


Published in the Home News Tribune 12/20/03
By KEN SERRANO
STAFF WRITER


AUGUSTO F. MENEZES/Staff photographer

Perth Amboy animal-control officer William "Billy" Paul, above, was charged with animal cruelty in connection with the botched euthanization of the shepherd-Labrador mix shown below.


PERTH AMBOY: The city's longtime animal-control officer drew animal-cruelty charges and was suspended without pay yesterday in connection with a botched attempt to euthanize a dog later found in an East Brunswick landfill.

William "Billy" Paul was charged with torturing and tormenting an animal and inflicting cruelty on a living creature as well as two accompanying civil charges by the Middlesex County SPCA, said SPCA officer Michael Iovine.

The case is scheduled to be heard in Perth Amboy Municipal Court in mid-January, Iovine said.

The dog, a 5-year-old shepherd-Labrador mix whose plight has drawn national attention, survived not only the attempt to put it down but also passed uninjured through a trash compactor before being found Dec. 4 in back of a trash truck at Edgeboro Landfill. It apparently clawed through the plastic bag it had been placed in.

A city woman moving to a place that did not allow pets brought the dog into the city pound the day before it was found, Iovine said.

Yesterday, the city announced it suspended Paul from his $39,293 job without pay pending the completion of an internal investigation by the Police Department, which oversees Paul and the city pound. But the city, in a statement from Mayor Joseph Vas' office, made it clear it is seeking Paul's termination.

Paul has worked as the animal-control officer since Jan. 1, 1985, a city spokesman said.

Perth Amboy has contracted licensed animal-care providers and is using volunteers to keep the city's shelter open, the statement added.

Paul, who can appeal the city's actions, could not be reached yesterday. He declined to respond to questions surrounding the investigation earlier this week, but told a reporter, "I love my animals. I'd do anything for my four-legged friends."

Iovine said the two disorderly-persons charges carry penalties of up to 6 months in jail and fines of up to $1,000. The civil charges each carry fines of $250. Community service and restitution for the care of the dog after its discovery at Edgeboro also could result from a conviction.