Middletown Family With Euthanized Cat: GoFundMe Is Not For Us

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — The Belford family whose healthy cat was taken from its front yard by Middletown Animal Control Nov. 5, and euthanized that same day by Red Bank Veterinary Hospital, has started this GoFundMe page.

But none of the money raised will go to the family, clarified Steve Mago, the owner of Mush, the cat that was euthanized. He also warned his family is not dropping this issue and will not stop seeking justice for their cat.

"My sons started the page," Mago told Patch this week, of the GoFundMe. "None of that is going to my family. We all have good jobs; we don't need the money. It's going to help the people who are helping us."

Mush was born with a deformed, sunken spine and both Middletown Animal Control and the vet said they thought he had been hit by a car. Mush had no microchip or collar and the vet thus assumed he was feral, with no owner. He was sunbathing in the Mago's front yard when he was picked up by Animal Control; people in the neighborhood flagged down the officer's car to report an injured cat.

Mago said the first change he wants to see is that Middletown Animal Control start leaving notes behind when they pick up an animal.

"In their report, they show the cat was taken from my property. They have my address in the report. How about starting with leaving a note on the front door of the house where you found the animal, and a note on the house on either side? Three or four notes is not too much to ask. This is a pet's life you are dealing with."

When word got out about the incident, Mago said he was inundated with "hundreds" of people messaging him wanting to help. "I've gotten texts and calls from strangers; I don't even know how they got my number, telling me about pro-bono animal rights' lawyers and stuff," he said.

One of the most active groups helping him is Reformers - Advocates for Animal Shelter Change in New Jersey, led by Colleen Freda-Wronko, who was instrumental in getting the trouble-plagued Helmetta Regional Animal Shelter shut down a few years ago. Wronko notified Dr. Manoel Tamassia, the head veterinarian for the state of New Jersey, about what happened to Mush and she is also helping the Magos behind the scenes, such as educating them on New Jersey's animal welfare laws.

Mago said right now, all the money raised would go to her group.

"It's really nice of them," said Freda-Wronko. "We would use the money to offer rewards or to help in legal situations with animals that are killed illegally. We primarily are an oversight agency that looks into illegal killing, abuse and neglect at local animal shelters as well as people who have an animal illegally killed or confiscated."

Mago said it's too early to say whether he has retained a lawyer, but:

"We don't plan on dropping this. This was just so wrong. If it comes to the point where we need to hire a lawyer, yes, we will. And this is not to make money, to get reimbursed 'for pain and suffering,' as people are saying on Facebook. This is to make sure this never happens again."

Initial Patch report: Middletown Animal Control Took Cat From Yard, Vet Euthanized It (Nov. 9)

The GoFundMe: Justice for Mush https://www.gofundme.com/f/jus...