1) how is this news? Pathetic, patch

2) dog left "do" die? Oh my.

This is nothing more then a LINCH mob... shame on all of you. What this 21 year old did was disgusting unacceptable, inhuman and against the law.
Let the lawmakers do their job. You are nothing better then 2000 years ago when they would tie a person up in the town circle and stone the person to death.
And another thing....if Lacey Patch wasn't online no one would have the avenue to become a linch mob!!! Sorry but I think this has gotten way out of hand.
Shame on Lacey Patch for contributing to and fueling this 'so called activist'. he is nothing more then a Sh*t stirrer and you are allowing it. This is not good reporting unless you were working for a "RAG" magazine !
And no I am not on the side of his 21 year old girl...just remember some one in their "RIGHT" mind would never do such a thing.

The girl who did this should have to do community service at an animal rescue shelter. For some reason, she never learned that "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" includes all of God's creatures. Perhaps the facebook page can focus on education and making sure this never happens again, rather than the "maximum penalty" for the offender. Empathy and responsibility were surely lacking in this offender. We should not mimic that in our response. Of course, we don't know the whole story of what was happening in this girl's life when she made this awful decision. We need to focus on making the public aware of rescue groups, phone numbers, and ways to ask for help so this does not happen again.

If u read the first story object this .. u would have read this isn't the first time this fire has abandoned or miss treated killed an animal.. she should get max penalty for the fact that shehasnt yet learn a lesson and in most serial killers backgrounds .. They start off as animal killers so maybe this will stop the next news feed that there was a mass killing or 21-25 year olds in ocean county case this girl just couldn't take it no more or what ever the excuse may be that time

Leave her on the cell alone. No food. No water. No freedom. Eye for an eye. She is a disgrace.

In*

Put her in a cell with no food or water and we'll check on her in a month!!!!!!

Kudos to Patch for posting this. The more people that know about this tragedy the better. We are the only voices defenseless animals have in this world.

RedonRed: If we were to do a public stoning, this chick would have learned the lesson and the dog would still be alive. You bet your butt that there are going to be people that will yell loud and clear for justice in this case. Something that most of us do not trust the legal system to be able to handle without our gentle poke. If she wasn't on all those drugs, she might have been in her right mind...you are welcome to crawl back under your rock now...take a book and learn something!

why was my comment removed simply because red on red didnt like the idea that i gave the address for the prosecuter's office.? the address to write letters is marlene lynch ford , office of the prosecuter , po box 2191 , toms river nj 08754. its not a "linch" mob its people who are tired of reading horrible stories and watching the people who do them laugh after they get $100 fine. to die over a course of weeks from starvation and thirst while not even being able to stand up or turn around in a crate is beyond evil.

the office to write letters to is marlene lynch ford, office of the prosecuter , po box 2191, toms river nj 08754. you cannot imagine what it could be like to slowly starve to death from thirst and starvation in a crate you cant even stand up or turn around in. we are tired of reading these kind of stories and watching the ones who do it walking out of court laughing after they get $100 fine. its time for that to end.

why are the comments giving the prosecuter's office being deleted?

the address is office of the prosecuter, po box 2191 , toms river nj 08754 . i will be sending a letter asking for the mximum penalty.

we are tired of reading stories like this over and over and the thugs who do it getting away with a slap on the wrist. those days are over. red on red you should have learned your lesson when you bashed the friends of that young man from the coast guard who was killed last year.

APP did a report on the girl and her crime. That is a news story. A new Facebook group is not a news story!

Ya know what Valerie Palmer-Jones....its all relative no? Drugs, not in her right mind, committing this crime. All goes hand in hand.
I am not giving this girl right, she is guilty undeniably....I too am a animal lover and have rescued dogs...
No reason to get all snippy with me. I am voicing MY opinion just like the rest of you and don't appreciate you telling me to crawl back under a rock...NO need to get your panties in a bunch.
Just remember how you would feel if this was your 21 year old and you were in her parents shoes... how would you feel ? Thats all I'm saying.

Just to clarify a point made in this article, Patrick was not chained to a fence, he was starved nearly to death, put in a garbage bag and thrown down a garbage chute!

I didn't realize this was printed and have just seen it tonight. I just would like to say that really there is no need to argue. Arguing on here is going to solve nothing. If we took half the energy being put into arguing with one another and used it to become involved in the community and or animal causes the world would be a much better place.

A dog was killed in a cruel way. To some it's just an animal and it means nothing, and to those that feel that way, I will simply say, if someone is capable of doing this to an animal it's reasonable to think they are capable of doing it to a human being.

Justice For Ruger FB page was made to bring awareness to this case and the fact that this is not a rare occurance. Unfortunately it happens more then people hear about and that's the problem. Cases like this do not get the attention it should. We need tougher laws and that starts by people becoming involved and speaking up.

Miss Otte has the ability to get an attorney to represent her. Let me ask you all, without involvement who will speak for Ruger, to ensure his rights?

This isn't a lynching. It's being the voice for the voicless and asking that the punishment fit the crime. LEGALLY!!

I know many are angry but threats of violence solve nothing. focus on changing the laws so that stiffer penalties are in place for cases like this.

It's easy to sit back and do nothing, and harder to stand up and do something

USConstitution. I do agree with you with the public education end of it, although I do not believe it would have helped in this case. This young lady had access to the internet. She was savvy enough to post an ad for pet sitting, I would think she'd be savvy enough to search for an alternative for her dog:( With that said, if you are interested in becoming involved. Myself and atleast one other person is looking to start an outreach program within Ocean County. Our main goal would focus on the senior citizen community. We would like to have a seniors helping seniors program, in which senior citizens would be able to long term foster senior dogs in shelters that would otherwise not have a chance of being adopted. Through fund raising the program would cover the vetting needed which most seniors cannot afford, that being the reason they don't have a pet. We would also like to have contact with groomers that would offer free or reduced services to shut ins with animals that can no longer due to age and health bathe and groom their animals as well as assist in placing animals that lose their homes when older people pass or are forced to move into assitant living / nursing homes. I see so many times a family dumping their elderly parent's pet after the parent becomes ill. It's sad. It's not being done immediately, but it's something I'm looking to do in the near future. Look me up if you would like to help out or have some ideas.

REDONRED. I agree with you with letting the law makers do their job, however the law makers need to know that we as human beings are outraged that things like this occur. We as citizens need to write the law makers and ask for stiffer penalties for animal cruelty cases. When a case is being investigated and tried prosecution do take into consideration the impact it has had on people of the community and this is one of the reasons Justice For Ruger was created. It is a place for those interested to keep up on the story and to be aware that this happens and more then you know. On the page, the contact information for the assistant prosecutor handling the case, is also on there so that people can voice how they feel. I spoke to the prosecutor's office and was given the email address and told everything written will be read and put in the file. I'm sure you will have some defending her as well, so it's not one sided. It's an open email for anyone to write, not a lynching.

And, no way do I promote or tolerate violence suggested or written. Any sort of behavior like that is deleted.

Tracy M. The laws written do not do enough to protect animals and the punishment is not severe enough to make an impact. I would encourage you and others to lobby legislator's to make stronger laws. I spend most of my free time working for change, if you or anyone is interested in getting involved look me up. Being angry, at what we read or see does nothing. Writing the proper people and being educated about what goes on around us, is the road to change.

You may not have been directly inciting violence but you certainly weren't being very careful with information that was shared. And just for those who say there weren't threats against Ms. Otte, from the actual Patch article comments:
"What a cruel, heartless, evil person. I'd really love to see her left in a crate to rot."
"Let's do testing on her instead of animals! Filthy useless piece of crap!"
"Most of you wont see my comment but for thoose who do...... she needs to get her ass kicked and max jail time"
And that's just a small sample. If you take into consideration the mindset of some of these individuals, who know's what they may actually do. She's a young mother, probably having a hard time, and this mob mentality, justice by social media is incredibly faulty. Insinuating that she may, or possibly has already abused her child as well as questioning her ability to care for her; referencing articles found on the internet as concrete evidence of a link between animal abuse and serial killing, so she must be the son of Sam. None of you know what is or was going on in her life as much as you may like to think you do. Yes, she deserves punishment for her crime, but a good many of you have gone too far. I agree, the Patch should not be posting this as news as it is really generating some highly charged responses. Hopefully justice is left to take it's course without interference from armchair attorneys and meddlers with too much time on their hands.

Silent Majority any information that may have come up on the page or on the Patch was public information and easily accessible on the net. In fact it was posted right here in one of the articles written. I will and have always taken off any postings on the page that are inappropriate. I do not believe in vigilante justice. I advocate for stronger laws. To me it is not a waste of time and I do not consider it meddling to speak up for the innocent. Perhaps, if more attention was paid from the start a call wouldn't have been made about a foul odor but rather a dog, howling and barking non-stop. As a community we all need to become involved in what happens around us. Too many say "Let the other guy get involved." Animal cruelty is everyone's business. It's not meddling or having too much time on your hands when you speak up against things that you know are wrong. I'm wont answer anymore. Good Nite.

I don't feel guitly. IF SHE IS FOUND GUILTY, she should get the maximum the law allows. The evidence and the prosecution will decide if a case can be made against her, not the Patch and not my Facebook page. My FB page is calling for the maximum allowed by law if found guilty. There is no reason possible that could be presented for leaving a dog, locked in his cage in an empty house for over a month without food and water. I sleep well at night and will continue to sleep well. I wasn't going to answer but I did and this is my last answer. I'll spend my time constructively, helping animals as I have been or the past almost 17 years. It's very rewarding. You should try it sometime.

Before I leave, let me also link the petition asking for the max if found guilty. Another animal advocate friend of mine created this. I'm linking it for anyone that would like to sign. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/433/052/094/justice-for-ruger-dog-locked-in-crate-to-starve-to-death/ I don't suppose you'll sign it Silent Majority? No one is finding her guilty. We are simply asking for the max if found guilty. Please, don't forget to come out and support Camp Bow Wow's fund raiser for rescue. Sunday, July 29 from 11:30 - 2pm. Maybe you'll find your next best friend to adopt or maybe you can sign up to foster. Rescues are in dire need of fosters in order to be able to keep helping animals. Many times a rescue will have to turn away an animal due to no place for the animal to go. I hope the town will come out and support this great cause.

Since we're all speculating anyway, what if she had to leave in a hurry for some horrible reason? What if she had to run, not walk away from someone or something? What if her child or children were in danger? We just don't know the situation. She has no way of ever living a normal life in her hometown now, regardless of whether or not her reasons for leaving the dog were, let's say, understandable. Perhaps she just hoped that someone would hear him and get him, or that she was sure that would happen. I understand that she still has the right to a fair trial, but in the court of public opinion, it's already all over, don't you think? Like I mentioned, no one is going to wait for the verdict. I think the work you do is admirable, and I have signed your petition.

And by the way, I'm actually a social worker, working with homeless families, single mothers and foster children. So I see the human side of the awful effects of public opinion and those who aren't given a second chance regardless of background or past history. People running from their past make up the majority of my day and one way or another, right or wrong, it always catches up to them and colors peoples' perception, in my opinion - unfairly.

For you who did not read patch today April 16 2013 . This young woman of 22 was found dead in her home today . May she rest in peace.