Here's an article from our local paper...
Woman faces $8G in fines for gerbils
MIDDLETOWN: A township woman charged with abandoning three gerbils and a hamster in a wooded area in the township is facing up to $8,000 in fines.
Wendy Fiolek, 38, was charged with animal abandonment and failure to provide sustenance and shelter to the creatures, which had been household pets, said Victor "Buddy" Amato, chief humane law enforcement officer for the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Eatontown.
The charges, all disorderly persons offenses, are scheduled to be heard Oct. 8 in Municipal Court, according to the summonses issued on Wednesday.
The small rodents had been put in a cardboard box and left in the woods by Sleepy Hollow Road, Amato said.
"A youngster walking a dog heard them scratching, and that's how they were found," Amato said. A shipping invoice with Fiolek's address also was found inside the box.
When he first questioned her about the rodents, Fiolek said her daughter had previously owned gerbils, but they had been given to "a good home," Amato said.
She ultimately admitted leaving the animals in the box because her daughter didn't take care of them, he said.
I love that she tried to deny it at first and then cracked under the pressure of questioning!
It's better than what happened to our hamsters. The cat got one of them and the daschund got the other. Poor Hansel and Gretel. I still feel bad about it!
I'll bet that kid's in big trouble now! First she doesn't take care of her gerbils and now Mom has to pay an $8,000 fine. I think someone is grounded for life.
11 comments:
Good grief....talk about some expensive gerbils! Surely she could have just "let them go!"
That's ridiculous! Surely any gerbil would be happier living outdoors than in a cage with a wheel. People are so stupid sometimes.
Oh, and there's something for you on my blog. :-)
It's a shame that she didn't give them to that Newscaster from Philly
can't remember his name but he woud have given them a good home (warm and cozy)
Gerbil abandonment? What next?!
The mother's decision to do that is SO not the daughter's fault.
I "abandoned" a goldfish when my second child was born and no one was feeding or cleaning the tank.
lucky not to have been arrested and fined, I guess.
Why the heck did she leave them in the box? Why didn't she just let them go outside. They would have lived happily outside. What a goofball!
ouch - how embarrassing!
That is sooo funny. That is so something my mom would've done. Seriously. That is, if Ernie and Bert hadn't eaten each other first. There will be no rodents in our house. I have already declared it a rodent-free zone.
LOL OMG you are soo right, that kid is in BIG trouble now!
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