'Huckabee' hound from Bayonne

Saturday, February 09, 2008
By RONALD LEIR
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

An abandoned Bayonne beagle is now mugging for TV cameras. Wandering along Second Street on Jan. 30, the 4-year-old tri-color male was scooped up by a volunteer with Companion Animal Rescue & Education (CARE), a nonprofit animal advocacy group in Bayonne.

"The dog - we named him Scout - needed a bath, but he wasn't starving," CARE President Pamela Lindquist said.

CARE put up the pooch at Boca's Stay-N-Play Dog Center in Jersey City and listed Scout as being available for adoption on its Web site. Not long after, a Manhattan resident made arrangements to become Scout's owner.

But Scout also drew the attention of "The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet," a national daytime talk show that airs weekdays on New York's Channel 5.

The show was doing a segment called "Political Pooches," designed to match the presidential candidates to types of dogs. The producers were looking for a beagle as a match for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, said Nancy Carr, CARE's vice president.

"They saw one on our site and they sent a car down (on Friday ) to pick up Scout," Carr said. "They had a pug for (John) McCain, a labradoodle for Hillary (Clinton), and a great dane for (Barack) Obama."

"Scout was a real gentleman on the show," Carr said. "He was rolling over and kissing the hostess."

CARE recently lost its downtown Bayonne space where it houses stray cats and dogs. Anyone interested in providing or renting space to the agency is asked to contact CARE at (201) 436-6595.

Scout is scheduled to be picked up by his new owner today.

Snow's owners file complaint charging agencies with theft

KEN THORBOURNE - JERSEY JOURNAL - JAN 9

Aided by a city councilman, a Jersey City family whose escaped dog is now living in Long Island has filed theft charges against the two agencies that held the dog after it was picked up.

Sandra Roca, whose mother Lucy Roca was the dog's owner, filed theft complaints Friday against the Liberty Humane Society shelter in Jersey City and Companion Animal Rescue and Education in Bayonne.

Journal Square Councilman Steve Lipski accompanied Sandra Roca to court and supported her through the filing process.

Neither agency was aware yesterday that the complaints had been filed.

Vivian Kiggins, executive director of LHS, declined to comment. Nancy Carr, CARE's director, said, "We've been exonerated as far as the state Board of Health is concerned."

The Rocas' family dog, Snow - a 7-year-old Maltese - escaped from their Journal Square apartment on Oct. 15.

Snow was picked up by a Jersey City Animal Control officer that night and the dog was taken to the LHS shelter. Liberty Humane held her for five days before she was released to CARE and taken to the Animal Clinic and Hospital on West Side Avenue for treatment of an ear infection.

On Oct. 26, CARE adopted out the dog to a Long Island man.

By state law, LHS must hold a dog seven days to give its owner a chance to find their missing pet.

Lipski contends LHS violated the seven-day rule by releasing the dog to CARE on the sixth day.

The state Department of Health and Senior Services reviewed this matter and found that LHS officially kept the dog for seven days, even if she wasn't at the shelter, and was justified in allowing CARE to take the dog to the hospital.

A court hearing is set for Jan. 29, Lipski said.