NJ pet sitter accused of fatally shooting dog

A New Jersey man is facing charges after allegedly shooting a dog he was caring for.

The Berkeley Township Police Department said it responded to a call from a woman who said her dog, a 1-year-old French bulldog named Ruby, had died after being dropped off at a family member’s home on Oct. 3.

The dog’s owners said they dropped him off at 56-year-old Jeffrey Lentz’s home.

“Ruby’s owners later received a call that Ruby had been injured and died from her injuries,” the department said in a news release.

A veterinary examination and x-rays revealed that the dog had been shot in the jaw.

Police began an investigation as the dog was sent to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture’s Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory in Trenton for a necropsy.

Investigators determined that Lentz “unlawfully fired a firearm at the dog, resulting in the dog’s death.”

He was charged with animal cruelty, possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes and possession of a high-capacity magazine. He was arrested Nov. 3 and “held on remand at the Ocean County Jail pending court proceedings,” officials said. Lentz was released Nov. 10 after a hearing in superior court and is expected to appear in court again in December.

If convicted of gun possession, Lentz faces a potential sentence of 10 years in prison.

The identities of the dog owners and their relationship to Lentz have not been released.