Bond to be posted for care of two dogs taken from Island residence
Stephanie Bucalo, the woman whose 18 dogs were seized from her North Ferry Road home at the end of August, was back in Justice Court Oct. 13 for a bond hearing.
Ms. Bucalo agreed to post a bond within two weeks of approximately $14,000 to pay for the upkeep of two dogs she didn’t surrender that are currently being held at a shelter until their custody is decided.
The case was handled by an assistant district attorney, although Town Attorney Bob DeStefano Jr. was in court. He was there, he said, to determine what the bond decision would be, given the fact that there are costs the Town is bearing, for which it wants to be reimbursed.
As for the other dogs seized, one had to be euthanized, but the others were distributed to several area shelters for which the Town is being billed at the rate of $500 per day, according to Supervisor Gerry Siller.
He told the Town Board at its Oct. 13 work session that he want to ensure the provisions are made to eventually reimburse the Town, or have a lien placed on Ms. Bucalo’s property.
Shelter Island Police had arrested Ms. Bucalo, charging her with 18 counts of “animal cruelty, torturing and injuring animals and failure to provide proper sustenance.”
The charges were brought under the New York State Agricultural & Markets Law. Eighteen additional counts were made against Ms. Bucalo under the Town Code for having unlicensed dogs.
Police reported at the time of the arrest the dogs were “subjected to urine and feces … [and] severe untreated medical conditions requiring euthanasia.”
Det. Sgt. Jack Thilberg said that the Town executed a court-ordered search warrant on the residence and the dogs were seized under the warrant for Shelter Island Town Code and New York State Agricultural and Markets Law violations.
The house has been the subject of complaints from neighbors for years about multiple dogs barking and howling at all hours of the day and night. It was shuttered by the Shelter Island Police and Building departments after a building inspector determined the residence to be unsafe.
