New Rochelle woman charged with animal abandonment after leaving puppy in street

A woman caught on video removing a puppy from her car on a New Rochelle street and driving off has been charged with animal abandonment, SPCA Westchester officials said.

Marissa Levy, 43, was arrested by SPCA enforcement and New Rochelle police on Tuesday, two weeks after a home security camera caught the midafternoon dropoff of the Labrador retriever on Lotus Road. The woman pulled her white SUV up to the curb, came around to the passenger side, picked the dog up and put her on the grass. When the woman returned to the driver's seat the puppy initially followed her into the street but returned to the curb when the SUV drove away.

The video was shared with the SPCA and posted on Instagram. An anonymous tip to SPCA Westchester’s Confidential Animal Cruelty Hotline from someone who recognized Levy by her SUV and the medical scrubs she was was wearing helped authorities identify Levy, said Ernest Lungaro, director of the SPCA's Humane Law Enforcement Unit.

“We will never understand how someone could so callously abandon a defenseless animal and are so thankful that a Good Samaritan acted swiftly and rescued Rosie,” said Shannon Laukhuf, SPCA Westchester’s Chief Executive Officer.

The dog, now named Rosie, was adopted by a Good Samaritan who found her wandering in the neighborhood that day.

Levy, who lives about two miles away from where the dog was left, could not be reached for comment. She was directed to appear on the misdemeanor charge in New Rochelle City Court on July 9.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: New Rochelle NY woman charged after abandoning puppy on the street