Middletown Animal Control Took Cat From Yard, Vet Euthanized It

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — A Belford family is in agony after they said a Middletown Animal Control officer came onto their yard last week, took their healthy cat and dropped the cat off at Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in Tinton Falls, where it was euthanized that same day.

But Middletown and Red Bank Veterinary Hospital defended their actions, saying as many as eight neighbors flagged down the Animal Control officer after seeing the cat drag itself through the grass; they thought it had been hit by a car. Veterinarians at Red Bank found no collar or microchip, and had no choice but to think the cat was feral, with little chance of survival in the wild.

Except the cat, Mush, had not been hit by a car. He was born with a spinal deformity that gave him a curved spine and made it difficult for him to walk. He was in perfect health when he was killed, said his owners.

"This is just total incompetence all the way around, from the illegal pick-up to the needle at the end," said Steve Mago, 55, the Belford resident who owned Mush. "Nobody anticipates someone coming into your yard and stealing your cat."

Middletown says the story is an example of why people should have their pets licensed and microchipped.

The incident unfolded around 11 a.m. Thursday. Mush, 15 years old, was doing his usual activity: sunning himself in the Mago's front yard on Church Street in Belford. Mago and his wife were at work. A Middletown Animal Control officer was in the area, responding to the high number of feral cats.

"Residents flagged her car down, saying they had seen the cat in a yard, dragging itself," said Middletown town Administrator Anthony Mercantante. "If you saw this cat, you would think it had been hit by a car."

Mago said Mush "was born with a spinal deformity, so his spine sagged in the back, and his front shoulders were low to the ground. Most people would not have kept the cat, but we said let's give him a chance to live. Mush never had a problem in 15 years; he was totally functional."

The officer picked up Mush from Mago's front yard. From there, she took him to Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in Tinton Falls.

When Mago got home at 5 p.m. to feed Mush and his three other cats, he noticed Mush was gone.

"Mush was always the first one to be fed," he said. "He was always right by the back door, waiting. We looked all over, all his usual hiding places. He wasn't anywhere, and that really concerned me. So I said, 'Just for the hell of it, let me check the Ring video.'"

That's when he saw the officer pictured above, knocking on his front door.

Mago and his family then spent the next hour trying to find out who this woman was, as they were unable to read her badge clearly in the blurry doorbell camera. They called Middletown Township, and a short time later a Middletown police cruiser showed up outside their house. An officer told them Animal Control had picked up their cat and taken Mush to Red Bank.

"I was angry, but I went to Red Bank fully thinking my cat was still alive," Mago recalled. "I walked in the front door and said, 'We're here for the cat.' The woman behind the desk had a scared look on her face; she said, 'I have to get somebody.' Then a woman came out and told us our cat was euthanized."

He said he and his family "flipped out. We were hysterical."

"It took two hours for them to give us Mush's body. We just brought him home and all sobbed at the kitchen table."

On Friday, his son went back to Red Bank Veterinary and was given a copy of the medical report, which was also provided to Patch. What it showed enraged the Magos even further: Before deciding to euthanize Mush, the staff performed cardio, respiratory and internal exams. They found nothing wrong with his heart, lungs or digestive tract.

Red Bank had not performed any X-rays.

"If they had done an X-ray, they would have seen there was no break; it was a pre-existing condition that he's had for years," said Mago. "And yes, I'm sure the cat was crying the whole time but those were not cries of agony. He was scared."

On Friday, Mago took Mush's corpse to HomeVet in Belford to be cremated. As a precaution, they first did an X-ray, at Mago's request. It confirmed what Mago knew all along: The cat had no broken bones, much less a broken back.

Middletown and Red Bank Veterinary Hospital respond

"Our Animal Control officer did nothing wrong here. She did everything by the book," said Mercantante.

He also said she was within the law to walk onto Mago's property.

"The law is an Animal Control officer can go onto private property when there's an injured animal causing risk of harm to itself or others," he said. "We would come onto your property if there was a rabid raccoon or injured animal, whether you are home or not."

Some have asked why the officer did not leave a note.

"It is not the Animal Control officer's job to leave notes at the door," said Mercantante. "Especially when she doesn't know where to leave the note."

He said Mago's cat was first seen in a neighbor's yard, something Mago disputes. Hence, Mercantante said she had no idea on which front door to leave the note.

"Should she have left five notes? Or 10 notes?" he said. "Officers are not required to leave notes on doors."

Dr. Stacy Burdick, chief of staff for Red Bank Veterinary Hospital, said her vets found no microchip in Mush, or a collar.

"This situation is terrible for every single person involved," she said. "This is not something that any of our veterinarians take lightly. There were zero identifiable features that this was a pet."

"The cat presented as an unknown animal in pain, with severe deformities, and could not walk well," she continued. "My vets looked at the patient, and given the information they had in front of them they made a treatment decision. Based on the physical exam, X-rays were not indicated. "

Red Bank Veterinary Hospital released a statement on its Facebook page saying its staff assumed the cat was injured, due to its spine, and thought it was suffering.

Others have said that the vet should have held the cat for seven days, which is required by state law, and it also should have notified Middletown Animal Control that it would be putting the cat down.

But that law only applies to animal shelters, not veterinarians, said Burdick.

"Middletown Animal Control trusts our treatment decisions," she said.

A spokeswoman for Middletown said that a vet does not have to hold the animal for seven days if they feel it is inhumane to keep the animal alive for that long.

Considering legal action

Animal activists across New Jersey heard about what happened to Mush and have contacted Mago. One of them is Colleen Wronko, who was instrumental in getting the trouble-plagued Helmetta Regional Animal Shelter shut down.

"They made a determination based on no diagnostic testing," said Wronko. "They did no X-ray, no CT scan and no MRI. Had they done that, they would have seen a hereditary curvature of the spine. They also gave him a score of 9 on his Body Condition Score, with 10 being in perfect health. And a score of 4 in a pain test. That's akin to stubbing your toe. So now we're talking about needlessly killing an animal."

Wronko said she notified Dr. Manoel Tamassia, the head veterinarian for the state of New Jersey, about what happened to Mush.

Mago is considering legal action against both Middletown Township, Middletown Animal Control and Red Bank Veterinary Hospital.

"This is not about money; a crippled cat is worth five dollars," he said. "I want justice for the cat. This never would have happened if Red Bank had followed the law and held the cat for seven days."

Mago said he was unable to microchip his cat, and also did not think it was necessary.

"If the cat was a wandering cat, I would have microchipped it," said Mago. "But he really could not walk. And also the microchip is placed between the shoulder blades and his were not formed right."

Both Wronko and Mago filed OPRA requests to get the body camera recordings from the Animal Control officer, to see whose property the cat was on. All Middletown Animal Control officers wear body cameras.

But Mercantante said the blame lies with the cat's owner for failing to register Mush with the town or put a collar on the cat.

"Owners are required to get their pets licensed with the town," said Mercantante. "If he had abided by the law, his cat would still be alive."

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Correction: The veterinarian at HomeVet said she did not advise the Magos to "fight."