A couple and their dog were found shot to death in their Old Bridge home as a result of an apparent murder-suicide on Christmas Eve, authorities said.

Thomas Vuocolo, 55, and Cindy Marcinczyk, 47, died sometime before 9 p.m. Sunday, the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office said in a release.

A second dog also shot at the home on Hilltop Boulevard in the Cliffwood Beach section of town is recovering at a local animal hospital, the prosecutor's office said.

The investigation is ongoing but preliminary indications are that the deaths were caused in a murder-suicide, according to a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office.

A neighbor, Leslie Dunn, said the couple was suffering from health problems.

"They were sickly, but they didn't want charity," Dunn said. "It's a shock. I don't think one would have lasted without the other. They were very nice, polite and kept to themselves."

Another neighbor, who gave her name only as Michelle, said Vuocolo and Marcinczyk were "good people" who adopted the dogs from a local animal rescue.

Property records list Vuocolo as the owner of the home, which he purchased in 1981.

Anyone with information is asked to call Old Bridge police at (732) 721-5600 ext. 3141 or the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office at (732) 745-4436.