Dragged a dog behind a car
Gwinnett, GA (US)Date: Feb 11, 2001
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Marie RiveroMario Cruz
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Maria Rivero and her neighbor Mario Cruz were arrested on misdemeanor animal cruelty charges after neighbors saw Rocky, a 1 year old yellow mixed breed retriever on a leash following behind Rivero's SUV.
Rivero is a former Gwinnett County police officer who had applied for the animal control job in 1996 but was turned down for it. Rivero resigned from the Police Department in 1998. She is now a reserve officer in the Auburn Police Department.
The dog wore the pads off its paws and left a trail of blood while attached to a taut leash behind the moving Toyota 4-runner. Witnesses also stated Rocky was trying his best to keep up, stumbling and scraping his paws along the way. All 4 paws were worn raw, and his toenails were broken and one leg was scraped.
Rocky is recovering at a Suwanee animal hospital.
Rivero say she was just trying to get the dog back home.
Rivero says pets belonging to her and a next door neighbor, Mario Cruz, had run off. She and Cruz went to pick them up in a car. When they found the animals they tried to keep the dogs separated. So they put, Rocky, the labrador on a leash behind the car. She said she started driving home very slowly home.
Rivero says everything was fine until another dog came up to Rocky.
�At that point, I wanted to get him away from that dog and I accelerated and picked up a little bit of speed,� Rivero said.
Rivero says she stoppped within a few seconds and that's when Rocky collapsed. He was bleeding from his nails.
A neighbor who saw Rocky behind the truck called police. The officer who came to the scene charged both Cruz and Rivero with cruelty to animals. References« Back to Search Results
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