December 2013 –  Michael Papini, an animal shelter employee, was arrested and charged with animal abandonment and is accused of tossing a black plastic bag containing a live dog into a dumpster and driving off. Authorities say a female Maltese-mix was found wearing a pink collar and leash in a commercial dumpster outside a gas station in West Islip. They believe the pooch chewed her way out of a plastic bag. She was taken to an animal hospital. Prosecutors said Papini also abandoned a second dog who is still missing.