On Monday, a Florida sheriff’s office announced the arrest of a man who had tethered his dog to a fence and denied her food. According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, on November 19, deputies were called out to assist with a malnourished dog.
The authorities described what they found:
Deputies observed a severely skinny female dog, named Sparkle, tethered to a fence with no food. Due to the nature of the incident, detectives with both East District Criminal Investigations Division and the Animal Cruelty Task Force were notified and assumed the investigation.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office stated that they had “zero tolerance” for animal cruelty, writing:
“Zero tolerance means zero tolerance,” stated Sheriff Carmine Marceno. “I created the Animal Cruelty Task Force for a reason. Coupled with the amazing efforts of our Patrol Division, we are able to put these horrible abusers behind bars. In this case, I couldn’t be more proud of the team that rescued this dog and brought this man to justice.”
The man arrested is Johnny Lee (DOB 06/02/1972), who was described as the primary caretaker of Sparkle, who was 30 pounds underweight by the time she was freed from the tether and taken to a veterinarian for care.
On December 13, Lee was booked into the Lee County Jail on a charge of animal cruelty. Sparkle is recovering from being denied food and care.
(Images via Lee County Sheriff’s Office FB page)
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