Animal-care enforcement authorities are investigating the death of dog found in a crate on the shore of the Navesink River in Fair Haven Tuesday morning.
Chief Buddy Amato of the Monmouth County SPCA tells redbankgreen that, contrary to earlier reports, the dog was a dachshund hound, not a boxer-type mix, and authorities still don’t know if the dog drowned or was dead before it wound up in the river.
“We don’t know if this was a boating accident or someone dumped the dog in the river on purpose,” he said.
A riverfront resident reported the presence of the kennel-carrier crate to local police, who relayed the information to Amato, who handles animal-cruelty enforcement cases for Monmouth County. Amato did not immediately have the address available when he spoke to redbankgreen Thursday morning.
Amato said the carcass was in a state of decomposition and taken to Garden State Veterinary Hospital in Tinton Falls, where it was initially thought to be a boxer-type mixed breed. The dog had no tags or identifying microchip, he said.
Subsequent tests by the state Department of Health animal lab in Trenton, however, identified the dog as a light brown male dachshund of indeterminate age, Amato said.
Amato said the narrowing of the breed may help with the investigation, as his office is receiving “numerous” calls with tips about the case.
“We believe it was from somewhere in the vicinity, and don’t think it traveled very far down the river,” Amato said. “There are a lot of avenues of investigation opening up.”
Amato said he is awaiting further results from the state lab that should answer whether the dog drowned or died before it went into the river.
