‘Crazy Rescue Ladies’ sentenced to year in jail

✅ 170 dogs and cats were removed from a Brick home on December 2022

✅ The pair ran the "Crazy Rescue Ladies" rescue operation

✅ Aimee Lonczak also faces a charge of child neglect

BRICK TOWNSHIP — Two women who had over 170 dogs and cats in their home were sentenced to 364 days in prison by a judge on Friday.

Michele Nycz, 60, and Aimee Lonczak, 51, each pleaded guilty in June to two counts of animal cruelty after 129 dogs and 43 cats were removed from their home on Arrowhead Park Drive in Brick in December 2022.

When officers first entered the home they were overwhelmed by the stench of feces and urine coming from stacked animal cages encrusted in waste.

The pair ran the "Crazy Rescue Ladies" rescue operation that took in dogs from Florida, Georgia and North Carolina. Several veterinarians and a number of volunteers provided care and treatment for the animals, including getting them up-to-date on their shots and dealing with fleas and worms.

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Violation of pre-trial probation

As part of a four-year probationary sentence, a judge also imposed a lifetime ban on owning animals for both Nycz and Lonczak. They must also perform community service, but it cannot involve animals.

Lonczak also faces a charge of child neglect as her then 16-year-old daughter also lived in the home.

The pair got into trouble for violating the terms of their pretrial release, which included the condition they have no contact with any of the animals they had been housing.

Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said Lonczak and Nycz showed up at the Ocean County Animal Shelter in the Manahawkin section of Stafford Township in January 2023 requesting the release of their dogs. They were accompanied by Lonczak’s 16-year-old daughter.

Ocean County Public Health Coordinator Dan Regenye said the women told shelter staff they had permission to take the dogs but had no documents to back up their request and were refused.

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