26 Puppies In Van At Walmart Nets Animal Cruelty Charges For Trio: Prosecutor

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Animal cruelty charges were filed against three people after 26 bulldog puppies were found inside a van in a Garfield Walmart parking lot Aug. 19, Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal announced Tuesday.

Jesus Gabriel Valentin Rivera, 36, Vanessa Millan, 31, and Elaine Ramos, 26, all of Florida, were each charged with 26 counts of animal cruelty, Grewal said in a news release.

The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office Animal Cruelty Task Force investigated a suspicious van in the Walmart parking lot, Grewal said.

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Valentin Rivera, Millan and Ramos were inside the van, along with the 26 English and French bulldog puppies; the dogs were in two cages and a cooler, all of which were littered with feces, Grewal said.

One of the cages had 13 puppies in it and the temperature in Garfield that day was 90 degrees, the prosecutor said. The dogs had no access to water, either, he said.

The puppies were turned over to the Bergen County Animal Shelter where they remain.

The defendants were charged on summonses. They are due to appear in Bergen County Central Municipal Court in Hackensack Oct. 3 before Judge Louis Dinice.

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