NEW JERSEY – A New Jersey woman has filed an official lawsuit against the Gloucester County Animal Shelter, claiming its staff euthanized her micro-chipped orange tabby, Moe, just hours after he had gone missing.
A New Jersey state law requires a waiting period of at least seven days before an animal is put up for adoption, transferred to a fostering facility or euthanized.
Moe was put down on Oct. 1, 2015.
The Courier-Post reported on the federal lawsuit, which was filed just the past Monday by the cat’s owner, Stephanie Radlinger, and Stuart Goldman, a Monmouth County SPCA officer.
The lawsuit is also accusing the Gloucester County shelter of “administering insufficient doses of euthanasia drugs to animals, failing to adequately monitor the animals receiving the drugs, and disposing of animals without confirming they were dead,” the Courier-Post reported.
It notes a state inspection report last year which reportedly revealed that “312 cats, 71 dogs and other small animals were illegally killed between January and October 2015.” Moe the cat’s death was included in the tally.
The county shelter decided not comment on the case, citing a rule against commenting on pending litigation.
