Supporters back Oceanside dog nab suspect

Supporters of an Oceanside animal shelter owner facing a felony theft charge for refusing to return two lost dogs backed her outside the suspect's first court appearance Wednesday.

Diane Indelicato, 46, of Ruff House animal shelter on Long Beach Road, was released without bail after pleading not guilty to the charges. An order of protection was also issued that bans Indelicato from contacting the dogs' owners.

Police said they arrested Indelicato after she sent the dogs to a foster home in New Jersey. She had first claimed the 3-year-old maltipoo (a Maltese-miniature poodle hybrid) and 4-year-old shih tzu had escaped.

At the time, Indelicato said she didn't want to return the dogs because she considered them neglected.

Indelicato is due back in court Oct. 14.

"When the true facts come out, she will be certainly vindicated," said Indelicato's attorney, Jason Barbara of Garden City.

At First District Court in Hempstead before the hearing, Debbie Leone, 48, of Oceanside, said Indelicato "tried to save lives and the authorities don't really care."

"She should be commended," said Leone, who said she frequently visits the shelter. "I would have done the same thing."

Jim Riccobono, 40, a volunteer at Ruff House, said he was there when the dogs were brought into the shelter. "Nobody could believe the condition the dogs were in," he said. "A person who tried to do the right thing for the animals is being prosecuted. It's ridiculous."

Indelicato had previously said that when she got the lost dogs, they were "infested with fleas" and "didn't have full mobility of moving their legs or their head because they were so severely matted."

The dogs came to Indelicato after an acquaintance told her he'd found the two small dogs wandering on Atlantic Avenue in Baldwin without collars or identification Sept. 17, police said. That man had called the First Precinct, which recorded the discovery. The man later gave the dogs to Indelicato for grooming, police said.

The next day, the dogs' owner called the First Precinct, and officers put her in touch with the man who'd found them, police said.

The owner's stepfather went to Indelicato's shelter. Indelicato told him the dogs had escaped, but one of the dogs came up to him while he was there, police said.

According to police, Indelicato ordered him to leave. Shortly thereafter, Indelicato had the dogs picked up and taken to New Jersey. The dogs were to be returned to their owners.