Jessica Cunnington reports.
What to Know
- A Queens woman is facing multiple charges after police allegedly saw her attempting to sell a puppies from a sack that was tied shut over the weekend.
- When the officers intervened, the took hold of the sack and cut it open, discovering five pitbull puppies inside, covered in urine and condensation, the NYPD said.
- Now the puppies are being treated at the Manhattan ASPCA where they are being evaluated, while cops from the 101st Precinct are keeping in touch -- in hopes of adopting them.
A Queens woman is facing multiple charges after police allegedly saw her attempting to sell puppies from what police described as a "sack" that was tied shut over the weekend.
According to the NYPD, on Saturday, shortly before 7 p.m., officers Lukasse Pusz and Brian Chan, who were in the field training unit of the 101 Precinct saw a woman trying to buy a puppy from another on the corner of Beach Channel Drive and Horton Avenue in Far Rockaway.
Allegedly, when the potential buyer asked if there were any other puppies for sale, the woman reached for a bag that was tied shut.
Pusz said the bag was so small it didn't have any ventilation. When the officers intervened, the took hold of the sack and cut it open, discovering five pitbull puppies inside, covered in urine and condensation, the NYPD said.
"We found out they’re no more than 6 weeks so they didn’t have much life to even experience and they were being tortured," Pusz said.
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Chris Pimental who was working in a Dollar General nearby said he saw the illegal seller.
News
"She came in the store started walking up and down the aisles asking people to make offers on the puppies it was crazy," Pimental told NBC New York.
Body cam captured the moment a witness panicking asks the officers for help.
"We cut the bag open and that’s when five puppies flooded out well 4 because one was completely at the bottom unconscious…opened up its eyes and came back to life," Officer Austin Glickman, another one of the officers who helped the puppies, said.
Police on the scene immediately gave all the puppies water and love.
Now the puppies are being treated at the Manhattan ASPCA where they are being evaluated, while cops from the 101st Precinct are keeping in touch -- in hopes of adopting them.
Officers immediately took the puppies and arrested the woman, who was identified as 44-year-old Shirley Medina.
Medina was subsequently charged with torture injury to an animal, neglect of impound animals, and criminal possession of a weapon since she allegedly had brass knuckles.
Attorney information for Medina was not immediately known.
In a statement following the ordeal, the ASPCA said in part: "Thanks to the actions of the New York City Police Department, these puppies were quickly transported to the ASPCA, where veterinary experts are conducting forensic exams and providing them with much-needed care."
