Dog left tied to fence in Roselle: Cops say owners moved to Ga.

ROSELLE — A couple who moved from their borough home to Georgia left their dog outside tied to a fence, where it stayed during cold nights until it was found by an animal control officer five days later.

Associated Humane Societies of New Jersey sent an officer to a house on White Street to check on an abandoned dog and found a husky with a severely infected wound around a large portion of his neck.

Union County Acting Prosecutor Lyndsay V. Ruotolo said borough police found that the dog's owners, Curtis Swan, 27, and Aaleyah Clay, 29, had moved to Silver Springs, Georgia, on Nov. 15 and that they told a neighbor that they would eventually return for the dog.

The dog was outside the entire time and a neighbor was leaving food and water before animal control was notified.

New Jersey 101.5 Chief Meteorologist Dan Zarrow said that temperatures started off mild that week before dipping to freezing levels with cold rain by the time the dog was found.

The dog was taken to the Newark branch of Associated Humane Societies of New Jersey for medical treatment and then take to Popcorn Park Zoo in the Forked River section of Lacey.

The zoo's executive director told New Jersey 101.5 the dog has been named Carter and said he acts like a young dog but wasn't sure of his age. Carter will be available for adoption after his recovery.

"He's a real sweetheart. A real nice dog. He's getting laser therapy and his wound is being cleaned," John Bergmann said.

Swan and Clay were charged with third-degree causing serious bodily injury to a domesticated animal via neglect, as well as abandonment of a domesticated animal, a disorderly persons offense.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ