SEA ISLE CITY — A Woodbine man accused of allowing the health of his five dogs, puppies, and 15 cats to deteriorate without proper nourishment or veterinarian care has been ordered never to own animals again unless he can show he has the means to care for them.

Victor Cruz was ordered March 20 by Sea Isle City Municipal Court Judge Kenneth E. Calloway to relinquish his dogs and cats after he was found guilty on two counts of animal cruelty charges. The animals were seized in August and September of last year by the state SPCA and have been in limbo since then, at shelters or in foster care, pending the outcome of the court proceeding. Cruz previously gave up two of the dogs, Petey and Ginger, to the state, when SPCA officers searched his home in September.

At a hearing in February Calloway gave Cruz the opportunity to give up custody of all his animals and avoid the costs and possible outcome of a trial, but Cruz refused and chose March 20 to go to trial without an attorney.
Municipal Court Prosecutor Thomas Rossi presented witnesses who testified about the condition of the animals, all of whom suffered from neglect.

SPCA Sgt. Jane Donoghue said the condition of the animals on the first and subsequent visits to Cruz’s home was substantially the same and had not improved despite warnings to Cruz.

The five dogs were tied up outside. All were in about the same weakened condition except for one of the dogs, Buddy, who on a scale of 1-10, 10 being extremely overweight, 1 being extremely undernourished, was about a 5. The rest, however, ranged from 1s to 3s and all had symptoms that included fly strikes, infected ears and noses, emaciation, ribs showing, hipbones showing, flea infestation and eye problems. Fly strikes occur when flies bite an animal, cause blood to flow, and then are continually attracted to the same site because of the open sore.

Some of the cats were kept outside in what appeared to be rabbit cages, Donoghue said. One of the indoor cats, she said, had developed what she described as cauliflower ear, a condition caused by untreated ear mites and constant head shaking.
Dr. Nick Holland of Shore Veterinarians in Seaville, testified about the treatment he provided to two of the sickest of Cruz’s animals, Petey and Ginger.

Petey, he said, required surgery to remove a tumor and his spleen; he had a heart murmur, and came to him in a very weakened condition, hip bones showing, emaciated, and with ears and nose infected. Ginger was in a similarly weakened condition. Ginger’s puppies have recovered but were infested with fleas and weak. Both Ginger and Petey have since been doing fairly well, he said.

Some of the animals had Lyme disease, he said. The vet bill came to close to $9,000, he said, which he discounted by about half.

Cruz cross-examined witnesses with questions that focused in part on dates and times officers took action or came to his house. He asked who made the initial call to report concerns over the welfare of his animals, which was what prompted the SPCA investigation, but Judge Calloway advised Cruz that information was irrelevant, and beyond the witness’ direct testimony.
Calloway found Cruz guilty of two counts of failure to maintain sustenance, from Aug. 15, and Sept. 21, applying to all 20 animals, and dismissed the rest because, he said, they were duplicate charges.
Judge Calloway acknowledged Cruz attempted to feed the animals.

But he said he failed to adequately provide for their sustenance, which included feeding them adequately, and giving them proper shelter and veterinarian care.

“Sustenance goes beyond feeding the animal,” he said, “it goes to taking care of the animal.”

Members of the Cape May County Animal Shelter Alliance were present in the courtroom. They worked to help place the dogs and cats from Cruz’s residence.

“It was a long and time-consuming fight,” said Linda Gentille, president.

Cruz said he would appeal and Calloway advised him on the costs and process to do so. Cruz would need to obtain a stay from Superior Court to suspend the effect of his orders, Calloway said.