CLARK — Last December, on one of the coldest nights of the year, a litter of puppies was found abandoned in a construction bucket on the side of the road at an intersection in Clark. The pups, who were only about a week old at the time that they were found, were freezing, covered in fleas and suffering from malnutrition when they were brought in to Clark Police headquarters before being transferred into the care of a New Jersey rescue organization, where they had to undergo several weeks of medical treatment and around-the-clock care.
The story could have ended there. But for three members of the Clark Police Department, rescuing the pups turned out to be about more than just rounding out another day on the job.
“When they came in, they could barely open their eyes. They had been outside all night in 20-degree weather. It was terrible,” said Detective Paul Sosnowski. “We never officially talked about it, but on the day they came in, a few of us decided that we wanted to adopt some of them once they had recovered. So that’s what we did.”
Today, Ozzy, Zeus and Capri are happy, healthy and full of trouble, just like any four-month-old puppy should be. Detective Sosnowski, who adopted Ozzy, said the pups have made a full recovery.
Katie Moen
GOOD BOYS….Zeus, Ozzy and Capri, three puppies that were found abandoned by the side of the road in Clark last year, have found their forever homes with three members of the Clark Police Department.”He’s going to eat me out of house and home,” said Officer Ronny Taborda, who brought Capri home in January on the same day that Detective Bruce McDonald adopted Zeus. “I can’t believe how fast they’re growing.”
This week, the three pups met for their first reunion at the Clark Police station.
“We’re going to have to set up play dates for these guys on a regular basis,” said Detective McDonald as the three brothers chased a toy football around. “It’s so cool to see them all together again.”
The five other surviving puppies (one member of the litter sadly passed away before help could arrive) have also been adopted and are doing remarkably well, said Danielle Mania, a representative from Associated Humane Societies.
“I’m really proud of the guys in my department for stepping up the way that they have,” Captain Miguel Acabou said. “It’s pretty awesome to see how all of this worked out.”
But while this story may have had a happy ending, Detective Sosnowski said, there was never any reason for the puppies to wind up where they did in the first place.
“If you find yourself with an animal that you don’t want or you can’t care for, even if you don’t live in Clark, you can bring that animal to the police station and we will make sure that it gets taken to the shelter and given proper care,” he said. “You can bring them to veterinarian’s offices, fire departments, even some pet stores. We got really lucky in this case, but this could have been a really sad story. It’s easy to do the responsible thing. Animals don’t deserve that kind of treatment.”
