Case Snapshot

Case ID: 15035

Classification: Neglect / Abandonment

Animal: dog (non pit-bull)

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Animal was offleash or loose

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Injured dog thrown away in trash
West Palm Beach, FL (US)

Incident Date: Friday, Dec 19, 2008
County: Palm Beach

Disposition: Open
Case Images: 1 files available

Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!

The sound of muffled cries brought neighbors to a dumpster in a Suburban West Palm Beach apartment complex.

Along with beer cans, food and other trash, they found a dog inside a sealed garbage bag.

Animal Care and Control's Captain David Walesky tells NewsChannel 5, "This is one of the worst things we've seen."

The Jack Russel terrier mix was found critically hurt.

As Walesky explains, he has,"head trauma, his eye's protruded, he has a skull fracture, he has possible neck injuries."

Animal Care and Control officers were quick to call it abuse.

Director Dianne Suave calls the finding, "horrific by any standards."

As the dog went in for surgery, investigators began searching for the person responsible and the dog's owner.

Then, near the dumpster, we met Lisa Franklin who claims she's been searching for her missing terrier.

When she asked why NewsChannel 5 photojournalist Cody Jackson was in her apartment complex, a neighbor gave her the news.

Franklin explains, "I'm like, 'what dog?' She's like, 'Oh, um, it was your dog."

Franklin called her husband who she claims told her he saw their dog today and thought he was dead.

Although she sounded furious as she responded, "When they found him in that bag he was still alive," Franklin then told investigators her husband was not involved.

Instead, she says, her dog nicknamed 'Bad' was hit by a car and someone threw him in the trash.

Crying, she says, "Thats horrible cause they should have checked!"

As 'Bad' tries to make it through the night, investigators say, hit by a car or not, this is still considered a serious case of abuse.

Sauve explains, "There's little doubt in our mind that whoever put this dog into a garbage bag and sealed it and placed it into a dumpster knew this dog was alive."

If you have information on this case, please contact:
Palm Beach County Crime Stoppers
1-800-458-TIPS

References

• - Dec 20, 2008

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