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Police charged Kimberly Matthews, 27, last October with putting the American bulldog puppies in an Igloo cooler after arguing with her boyfriend over the phone.
When a neighbor she tried giving the Igloo cooler to asked why they weren’t moving, she said: “They were probably just sleeping,” police said.
When he later went to touch them, the man said, they were cold, so he called police, Linden Police Capt. James Sarnicki said.
Responding officers spoke to Matthews, who denied responsibility, Sarnicki said at the time.
However, the neighbor told police that Matthews had an argument over the phone with her boyfriend, who breeds the dogs, during which she threatened to kill them.
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In BERGEN COUNTY, report animal cruelty or neglect:(201) 573-8900
MORE INFO: Bergen County SPCA (or click image above)
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“At some later point, she removed the puppies from their cage and placed them into the cooler,” Sarnicki said.
Authorities initially had trouble finding Matthews. But publicity of the story — on CLIFFVIEW PILOT and other sites — persuaded her to surrender. She was then freed on $2,000 bond pending a hearing before Linden Municipal Court Judge Daniel Roberts.
Roberts yesterday convicted Mathews of animal cruelty and handed down the sentence, Sarnicki said.
Matthews also is awaiting trial from a Jan. 28 incident in which police arresting her for shoplifting said they found nearly 250 packets of heroin in her pocketbook.
IMAGES: Courtesy NJInsideOut
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