Starved Puppy Dumped in Park Finds New, Loving Home

A severely emaciated puppy found dumped near a baseball field in a New Jersey park last month has gained some weight and is being welcomed into a new, loving home. 

A jogger at East Side Park in Paterson, New Jersey, found Bunny, now known as Pocket, and her brother, Bugsy, Aug. 25. Animal control officers had said they found Pocket standing over her brother, apparently trying to comfort and protect him. Bugsy died a day later.

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The 6-month-old pups barely weighed 14 pounds when they should have clocked in at a healthy 50, according to officials. Animal care authorities believed they had been starved for months, and an attending veterinarian called it an "extreme, extreme case of neglect."

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Pocket gained 11 pounds in two weeks and now weighs more than 25 pounds. She was adopted by Karla Barricella, a Bergen County woman who read about Pocket's case in a newspaper.

Barricella's beloved Rottweiler passed away nearly two years ago, and she says that when she saw Pocket, she knew she was ready for another dog.

"My heart opened up again," says Barricella, who owns a horse farm in Warwick and lives in Ramsey. "The love -- you can just feel it. She is the sweetest, dearest animal ... and I will give her the warmest, dearest home in the world."

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Pocket's growth has been stunted by malnutrition and she will always be smaller than other dogs of her breed because of that, but "is totally healthy now," according to Dr. Paul Sedlacek, who owns the clinic where Pocket was treated.

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Barricella plans to make sure Pocket stays that way. Her son, James, said he was immensely happy his mother found another dog to love.

"Her dogs get more presents at Christmas than we did as kids because she takes good care of them," James Barricella said.  

Authorities are looking for the suspect or suspects who abused and then abandoned Pocket and her brother. A $1,000 reward is being offered for information. Anyone with information can call Paterson Animal Control at 973-881-3640. 

"There's no such thing as bad animals in the world. There's bad people that allow it to happen," John DeCando of Paterson Animal Control said when the pups were found. "This has got to stop." 

Here are the dramatic before and after photos of Pocket. See her playing with her new family below those photos.

Follow Jen Maxfield on Twitter @JenMaxfield4NY