(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) A Florida man put a dog in a trash bag and threw it away after its owner, and the man’s neighbor, died, the News & Observer reported.
Florida police officers discovered the dog in the trash when they noticed one of the trash bags moving.
According to Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno, the dog was found Thursday in Lehigh Acres, when a Family Dollar worker noticed movement in a trash bag in the Dumpster.
“Employees of a Family Dollar … found a trash bag inside the [D]umpster with something moving inside,” the Lee County Sheriff’s Office reported.
“Stuffed inside the bag, [was] Xyla, a 16-year-old Shih Tzu, with a rope around her neck,” it continued. “These heroic employees recognized this to be purposeful abuse and rushed Xyla to Blue Pearl Pet Hospital for evaluation.”
The dog was microchipped, and authorities discovered that the owner had died recently. But, looking to store camera footage, police traced the abuse to the owner of the SUV who could be seen on the footage dropping off the dog in the dumpster in a “bundled up trash bag.”
According to the sheriff’s office report, detectives made contact with the man “who happened to be wearing the same clothing as the suspect in the footage.”
The suspect had told family members that he was “taking Xyla to the Humane Society to be put down that day. Instead, he tried to throw her away in the [D]umpster.”
The 55-year-old has been arrested and charged with a felony for aggravated animal cruelty.
The dog “appears to be in great health,” and will soon be put up for adoption at Lee County Domestic Animal Services.
