In a disturbing discovery, a woman has been arrested after police said they found dozens of dead animals in her pickup truck parked behind a shopping center in New Jersey.
The Virginia woman left her truck behind a Marshall's off of Route 206 at the Sussex County Mall in Newton, according to police. That's where investigators say they found 38 dogs and eight cats living inside the truck on Monday.
The remains of another 40-plus animals were also found inside trash bags, according to the Eleventh Hour Rescue group, which sent volunteers to help handle the putrid situation. The group said that the animals had been in the car for days.
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"These animals were living in these deplorable conditions since Thursday and who knows what they endured prior to this. The stench of this vehicle could be smelt from down the road," the rescue group wrote in a Facebook post. "Our lungs are still burning from inhaling the fumes. Everything was soaked in feces, urine, & animal remains."
The animals that survived were taken to shelters and will eventually be put up for adoption.
“I think we say this each time, we think ‘Oh this is the craziest story we’ve ever seen.’ And then this really was the craziest we’ve seen. To see them in a truck was unbelievable. And then they were put in crates as they were caught and found,” said Megan Brinster, the executive director of the Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge.
Police did not say why the woman had the animals. She has been charged with animal cruelty.
