NYPD saves puppies, Queens woman arrested
QUEENS, N.Y. (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - A Queens woman is facing multiple charges after police allegedly saw her attempting to sell puppies from what police described as a sack that was tied shut over the weekend.
Body cam footage shows the cries of six puppies on a corner in Queens, moments after officers rescued them Saturday.
"We found out they're no more than six weeks so they didn't have much life to even experience and they were being tortured," said Officer Lukasse Pusz with the 100th Precinct.
At a Dollar General in the Far Rockaway neighborhood in Queens, Chris Pimental was working and noticed a woman with a puppy.
"She came in the store, started walking up and down the aisles, asking people to make offers on the puppies. It was crazy," Pimental shared.
Outside were Pusz and another officer, Brian Chan, who said they saw a woman walk out of the store with a puppy, overhearing a conversation.
"Another individual stopped her and said, 'What a nice puppy. What are you doing with it?' She said, 'I'm selling it, and I have the rest of them in the bag,'" Pusz explained.
That bag, Pusz says, was small and had no ventilation.
"Then I saw one important sign...It was a sign of movement. It was a sign of life," Pusz further added.
They then approached the woman with the bag as nearby officers responded.
"Cut the bag open and that's when five puppies flooded out, well four, because one was completely at the bottom unconscious...opened up its eyes and came back to life," said Officer Austin Glickman with the 101st Precinct.
Officers immediately giving them water and love. An unexpected Saturday afternoon on the job.
"Right place, right time. It makes you feel really good," Glickman expressed.
Now, the little pups are being treated at the ASPCA, and cops from the 101st Precinct are staying in touch, hoping to adopt them.
"We have some names in mind. We named them for the general area where this occurred," Glickman remarked.
Police say 44-year-old Shirley Medina is now facing charges, including torture injury to an animal.
