Resident Charged As Animal Removal Finished At Brick Home

BRICK, NJ — The resident of a Mantoloking Road home has been charged with a disorderly persons offense in connection with the removal of 133 animals from the home, Brick Township police said.

Jeffrey Finlay, a tenant at the home, has been charged with failure to provide care of a living animal or creature, and two township ordinance violations — failure to license an animal and violating the prohibition against harboring five or more cats/dogs/ combination — in the case, police said Saturday.

Finlay called authorities Thursday asking for help in removing the animals from the house, police said.

Due to the nature of the call, Brick Township Police Humane Law Enforcement Officer Scott Smith, responded, and after authorities were cleared by hazmat crews to go in, they began removing the animals.

The removal of the animals — 130 cats and three dogs — took more than 24 hours because "due to limited resources," police said. The animals were taken to the Ocean County Health Department's animal shelters in Jackson and Manahawkin.

Smith said all of the animals appear to have been properly fed and are all pending veterinary reports. There were no dead animals located on site, he said.

Berkeley Hazmat and Brick Township Fire District 1 firefighters assisted.