90 cats and dogs, at least 40 dead, found in abandoned pickup truck in New Jersey strip mall parking lot

HAMPTON TOWNSHIP, New Jersey — Ninety animals were found inside of a pickup truck parked outside of a Marshalls in Sussex County, New Jersey. At least 40 of the cats and dogs found were dead.

Roughly 38 dogs and eight cats were rescued from the Chevy Silverado Monday evening.

The owner of the vehicle has been identified by New Jersey State Troopers as Lynn Leonard, 53, of Bloxom, Virginia. When she arrived at the scene, she was placed under arrest.

According to the organization Eleventh Hour Rescue, the animals had been living in the pickup truck for a few days.

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Some of the animals were in crates, but many were loose within the cab of the truck. New Jersey State Troopers discovered several trash bags in the bed of the truck containing at least 30 of the dead cats and dogs, many of them newborn kittens and puppies.

Both animal control and a veterinarian were called to help assess the condition of the cats and dogs.

The animals were removed from the scene by Eleventh Hour Rescue, Blairstown Animal Hospital, Newton Animal Hospital and Bark’s Animal Rescue.

Leonard has been charged with animal cruelty and was released pending a court date.

This case remains under investigation.

If you are interested in fostering one of the animals saved by Eleventh Hour Rescue, you can fill out an application here.