Woman charged with animal cruelty after dog hangs self inside vehicle

A Middlesex County woman is charged with two counts of animal cruelty after her dog hanged itself after being left unattended in the car while she ate dinner in a local Chinese restaurant, authorities said.

Isabella Rojas-Soriano, 30, of Brighton Avenue in Perth Amboy, tied the lead for her male Yorkie dog to the headrest of her 1998 Plymouth minivan before taking her family into the Peking House Chinese restaurant on Sunset Avenue in the Wanamassa section of the township on Tuesday evening, according to Victor "Buddy" Amato, chief law enforcement officer for the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.



The Yorkie, Scoobey, apparently became excited during the family’s absence and made his way around the vehicle wrapping the lead around the headrest, Amato explained. The family returned to the vehicle at around 7:30 p.m to discover the dog was dead, and called police, Amato said.

Rojas-Soriano is charged with two counts of animal cruelty for leaving an animal unattended inside a vehicle and for carrying an animal in an inhumane way, Amato said. She is due in municipal court on Sept. 20, Amato said.