Bettina Roed, long-time West Windsor animal control officer has been no stranger to controversy during her tenure with the township.
Although she has been a staunch advocate for animal rights and lauded by many residents, she has also faced criticism at times for being overzealous in the way she conducted her job.
A recent incident that illustrates Roed’s animal advocacy centered around the death of a swan in Carnegie Center. According to Roed, a male swan was killed on January 15 by what she suspects was a loose dog. She examined paw prints and boot prints in the snow and suspected that a person had brought the dog to run around in the area.
The swan was part of a male-female pair brought in by Boston Properties for beautification. The property owner made a decision not to relocate any more swans on the property after Roed asked officials not to bring more of the non-native species to the center.
But Roed’s methods came into question during a highly publicized incident several years ago, reported in a January, 2007, article in the News titled, “Animal Control — Or Out of Control?”
Benford Drive homeowner Perry Link claimed that Roed went on a vendetta against him because she did not like the way he treated his German Shepherd, Peaches.
Roed had previously cited Link on several occasions when Peaches got past the invisible fence around the yard and escaped into the neighborhood. Link eventually tied up the dog, but Roed was unhappy with the way the animal was restrained.
Link’s said his problems with the animal control officer reached a head when Roed allegedly entered his property uninvited and went into his garage to examine Peaches, who was then tied by a tether that allowed him to go in the backyard, under the deck off the rear of the home, and into the garage. Link said she told him that she did not like the collar he was using on Peaches.
“She started monitoring my home regularly. She took videos of Peaches getting tangled in his leash,” Link said. “I wrote letters to the mayor and the chief of police because I thought she was going too far. I got nine summonses in all.”
Roed said she had no personal gripe against Link, and explained that the proper housing of dogs was an issue she had to explain to many homeowners. She said she felt the dog was treated so badly that it was an issue of animal cruelty, which she then reported to the SPCA.
“This case was prosecuted by the SPCA. In cruelty cases, I don’t have the right to file charges, but as a police investigator, I have the right to do an investigation.”
Eventually, an armed and uniformed officer from the SPCA appeared at Link’s home and demanded to be let in, explaining he was investigating complaints of animal abuse made by Roed. The officer found the dog’s empty food bowl and an empty water dish.
Link was issued six SPCA summonses for “deprivation of necessary sustenance,” and had a mandatory court appearance as a result of the infractions. He eventually pleaded guilty for failing to provide adequate shelter to the animal and signed an agreement barring him from owning animals for seven years. By the time of the court appearance, Peaches had died of a chronic ailment.
Meanwhile, Roed, whose department was under the auspices of the Police Department, acknowledged that she was given an internal reprimand for entering the property without permission.
But if anyone else had problems with Roed, no one made them known. Following the Peaches incident, a number of people commented in her support.
