A 51-year-old city man, who displayed suspected dog skulls on his fence, has been charged with cruelty to animals for allegedly neglecting dogs he kept outside at his boat business.
Authorities were notified by a concerned citizen and responded to Richard Allan Hopkins' business at 7260 Hoadley Avenue, according to Marti Ryan, spokeswoman for Hillsborough County animal control. Ryan said three dogs - two adults and a puppy - had been neglected for some time and had injuries to their faces and paws that were infected and untreated. The animals were also infested with fleas and showed signs of heart worm, she said.
Hopkins had two full skulls and some more partial skulls on his fence. Ryan said investigator Renee Northrup is confident they are dog skulls.
"It's just so eerie," said Ryan who had been with Hopkins' dogs and saw pictures of the skulls. "The shape of those skulls is the shape of those dogs' heads," she said.
Altogether, Hopkins had five adult dogs and five puppies, which all appeared to be some sort of German shepherd mix.
"The dogs have various veterinary problems, various medical issues," Ryan said. "They're not the worst we've ever seen. They warrant veterinary medical attention, obvious medical attention."
She said they had lacerations and deep wounds on the undersides to their paws that have become infected, hair loss, possible infections around the eyes and bite wounds around the face.
Ryan said she didn't know if the animals were being used as guard dogs or pets, but that they didn't seem to be particularly aggressive on casual observation. "They are very sad," she said. "They're frightened."
It's not known how the dogs whose skulls were displayed died, Ryan said, but she said the matter remains under investigation. Hopkins was being held in lieu of $6,000 bail. Case UpdatesAccording to court records, Richard Allan Hopkins entered a plea of nolo contendere to a first degree misdemeanor animal cruelty charge on June 7, 2007. He was sentenced to 12 months probation, during which time he is prohibited from owning animals. Hopkins was also ordered to pay court fines. | Source: Hillsborough County Case 07-CM-010413 Update posted on Jul 23, 2007 - 7:48PM |
Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
Back to Top References« FL State Animal Cruelty Map
|