Abandoned gator and pit bull

A few days ago Richard Fumo, 30, moved from New Bedford, Massachusetts to Florida. On Tuesday, the landlord of his vacated apartment went in to check the unit over and promptly left and called New Bedford Animal Control. Fumo had left his pets behind.

When they entered the second-floor apartment at 31 Ashley St., they found a 4-foot-long, 25-pound alligator with stab wounds to its upper left leg. The gator was separated only by a baby gate from a pit bull that had not eaten or had any water in days.

Needless to say, Fumo will be charged with possession of an alligator and two counts of animal cruelty, according to Animal Control Director Emanuel Maciel. That is, after he is located in Florida. That hasn’t happened yet.

Along with New Bedford Animal Control, the state environmental police and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) are investigating the incident. Alligator possession is illegal under Massachusetts law.

Maciel estimated that the alligator, which will be treated for its wounds by a veterinarian, is three to four years old, and the pit bull is two to three years old.

The alligator is being treated for its wounds at New England Reptile and Raptor in Taunton, Mass., while the pit bull was taken to Forever Paws Animal Shelter in Fall River, Mass.

So if any of our readers in Florida run across a loser named Richard Fumo who just moved down from Massachusetts, here’s the number for New Bedford Animal Control: 508- 991-6366. Give ‘em a call, and let’s get this guy the punishment he deserves.

Abandoning animals in a locked apartment… yeesh.

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