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Under her plea deal with the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, Tonya Fea, 50, also can no longer own a dog and must continue counseling while completing 100 days of community service.
Fea took the deal, pleading guilty to third-degree animal cruelty in Superior Court in Paterson on Thursday, rather than face trial.
Fea “admitted under oath that on April 30, 2019, she submerged her golden retriever puppy in a pond located in West Milford, disregarding whether the dog was alive at the time,” Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes said.
“She further admitted the puppy died because of her actions,” the prosecutor said.
Fea, of Jefferson, was arrested thanks to a $12,000 reward posted by The Last Resort Animal Rescue after a member of the non-profit group found the dog’s body in a crate at the edge of Greenwood Pond in West Milford.
The puppy – which the group named Jenny -- had been drowned, a necropsy found.
"The puppy was dead and ice cold and soaking wet inside the crate, lake bed vegetation hanging on the crate," the organization's Nancy Warner wrote.
Also in the cage with Jenny was a wee-wee pad and a lead-crystal ice bucket that authorities believe was used to weigh it down.
The pads had some blood on them and were stuck to Jenny's head.
Township police detectives discovered that Fea had made an appointment at the West Milford Animal Hospital for a Golden Retriever puppy the same day that Jenny's body was found but didn't show up or cancel, according to court records.
Things fell into place after that.
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