Posted on Jan 10th, 2023

Brick Township police have received hundreds of emails from people around the nation looking for missing pets after 180 dogs and cats were seized from two Ocean County women accused of hoarding animals in an alleged puppy mill.

Brick officials began receiving requests once word began to spread that the 135 dogs and 45 cats rescued on Dec. 2 from a home on Arrowhead Park Drive were under the care of Aimee J. Lonczak, the founder of the animal rescue nonprofit, Crazy Rescue Ladies Inc., authorities said.

So far, officials have been able to identify and reunite three dogs with their rightful owners — including Daisy the bloodhound, whose family reported her missing two years ago in Tennessee.

Daisy’s family drove 11 hours to New Jersey last week to be reunited with their lost pet, who was linked to them after Ocean County officials scanned a microchip the family had embedded in the dog’s skin before she went missing.

Rocky, a 2-year-old Collie, spent two weeks under the care of the Ocean County Animal Facilities before he was reunited with his family on Dec. 17, shelter officials said. He was missing for more than seven months.

A small Shepherd mix named Couchy was reclaimed by a family from South Carolina, said Brian Lippai, a spokesman for the Ocean County Health Department.

“They heard the dog had made the journey from an adopter to the Brick home and asked to reclaim, which was granted after they provided proof of ID, vet papers and pictures,” said Lippai.

Lonczak’s nonprofit, Crazy Rescue Ladies, is registered to Michele Nycz’s home Arrowhead Park Drive where the animals were seized in filthy and cruel conditions, according to officials.

Police said they believe they know how Nycz and Lonczak obtained so many animals from all across the nation, but that information hasn’t been verified yet, Smith said.

Lonczak, 49, and Nycz, 58, were charged with animal cruelty. They were also charged with child endangerment because Lonczak’s 16-year-old daughter was also living in the house, authorities said.

• Police set up an email address — [email protected] — for people to reach out if they believe their missing pet may have been held by Crazy Rescue Ladies, according to Brick Police Officer Scott Smith, the lead investigator on the hoarding case.

Email requests have been coming in from New Jersey residents and people as far away as South Carolina, Missouri, Illinois and California, Smith said.

Police received over 80 emails within the first week after the email address was shared on the department’s Facebook, officials said.

By Friday, that number had climbed to nearly 200, police said.

The influx of requests is partly due to people sharing the email address across social media as a resource to send inquiries for all missing pets, regardless of their location or possible connection to the Brick hoarding case, Brick officials said.

“It’s a shot in the dark for some people and I understand that,” said Smith. “I do not mind at least giving them the closure and saying, ‘Hey, your dog or cat is definitely not here. Good luck with your search.’”

Officials request that anyone who suspects a lost pet is among those rescued send in a picture and short description of the animal.

Most of the rescued animals were not microchipped and, if they were, that information often expires or is no longer registered in databases, Smith said. However, Daisy the bloodhound’s microchip was active when she was rescued on Dec. 2, helping Ocean County officials locate her family.

Police have also heard from people checking on the welfare of animals they either attempted to adopt from Crazy Rescue Ladies or surrendered to the organization.

It took officials 10 hours to remove the animals from the Brick location where police said the dogs and cats were being kept in cages and filthy conditions. All 180 animals were transferred to the two shelters and many can now be adopted.

Anyone who wants to adopt an animal rescued in the hoarding case should contact Northern Ocean County Animal Facility in Jackson or Southern Ocean County Animal Shelter in Manahawkin, the two shelters housing the rescued animals.

“They are all happy, healthy, up to date on all age-appropriate vaccinations, spayed, neutered and they have all been microchipped,” the Friends of the Southern Ocean Animal Shelter said in a statement. “Despite what they have all been through they remain happy go lucky, adorable and super affectionate.”

Original Post: Families Looking for Lost Pets Across the U.s. Contact N.j. Cops After 180 Animals Are Found in House