A pair of pooches cruelly tied to the back of a moving car in Queens and forced to run behind it are on the mend and ready for adoption, animal rights officials said Friday.
Months after the dogs were seen leashed behind a Volkswagen Passat as it motored along a street in Long Island City, rescue workers from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said the dogs are ready to be taken into a loving home where an owner actually cares for them.
Dan Bujor, 68, was arrested on animal cruelty charges in January after witnesses reported seeing him behind the wheel driving at a slow rate near 11th St. and 43rd Ave. with the two dogs in tow.
Leashed to the trunk and running behind the car were Marzipan, a 2-year-old German Shepherd mix, and Nougat, a pit bull mix between 2 and 4 years old, according to a criminal complaint.
A group of about eight people tried to stop Bujor by knocking on his window, jumping in front of his car and attempting to free the animals as he drove for roughly two blocks with the distraught canines running behind.
“I tied the dogs to the car,” Bujor allegedly told investigators after his arrest, “because I did not want them pooping inside the car.”
The animals were taken to the E. 92nd St. ASPCA animal hospital and adoption center in Manhattan, where Marzipan was treated for a ruptured left eardrum and Nougat received treatment for abrasions on her paw pads and wrists, as well as inflammation of the skin between her toes and diarrhea.
The German Shepherd was extremely fearful upon her arrival at the ASPCA and underwent specialized behavioral rehabilitation to help build her trust of new people and prepare her for life in a home, officials said.
The pit bull mix has been thriving in a foster home for the past several months.
The court legally transferred ownership of the dogs, now called Marley and Miss Noogie, to the ASPCA and they are now available for adoption and looking for new, loving homes, officials said.
Meanwhile, the animal cruelty case against Bujor is continuing in Queens Criminal Court.
Anyone wishing to adopt the animals can reach out to https://adopt.adopets.com/.