Animal Cruelty Charges For LI Woman Who Abandoned Dog: SPCA

BOHEMIA, NY — A woman has been charged with animal cruelty after abandoning her dog at a Long Island hotel without food or water, according to the Suffolk County SPCA.

Jerilyn Cruz, 38, of Brentwood, allegedly abandoned her male, 1-year-old dog named Toby, an Australian shepherd, in a Bohemia hotel on March 30 without food or water for over 24 hours, SPCA Chief Roy Gross said.

Gross said SCPA detectives interviewed hotel employees who found the unharmed dog and gave him food and water.

Cruz turned herself in to SCPA detectives at the Suffolk County Police Department on April 11 and was charged with abandonment, misdemeanor animal cruelty and making a false written statement, the SPCA said.

Cruz is slated to appear at First District Court in Central Islip on May 1, Gross said.

To report animal cruelty, call the SPCA at 631-382-7722.