Puppies put in microwave, third dog malnourished - Lebanon, IN

Tuesday, Nov 2, 2010

County: Boone

Disposition: Alleged

Abuser names unreleased

An eight-week-old pit bull puppy suffered burns after two children placed him in a microwave at a home in Lebanon. He's since gotten treatment and is now with a foster family just like his sister, another pit bull puppy that was surrendered from the same home but uninjured.

Lebanon police said a neighbor alerted police about the incident. Lt. Brent Wheat said police don't know why the boys decided to cook the animals.

Wheat said a neighbor found out about the incident and urged the boy's parents to take the puppies to a veterinarian, but they refused, prompting the neighbor to call police.

"Devastated, absolutely horrible, made me sick to my stomach. I couldn't believe that someone could harm an animal this young," said Humane Society volunteer Amber Shue.

It happened two weeks ago. The boys who put sugar on the puppy and then in the microwave are just three and four years old.

"Yes, my kids did do that, and I feel very bad," said their mother, Bethany Rodriguez.

Bethany says it happened while she was asleep after coming home from her third shift job. She talked to us to give us her side of what happened.

"Why did you put the puppy in the microwave?" she said she asked the boys.

"They didn't want to confess to me and they're very young, so I don't know what they were thinking. They put dog food in there too. I can't really discipline them because they don't really know what they're doing, they're still young," she explained.

For now, because of their young age, the Boone County prosecutor has opted not to press charges. Rodriguez has been contacted by children's welfare authorities though, who have opened a case file on the family.

"I could have gotten my kids taken away, that's why I quit my job so I could be home with my kids so that wouldn't happen again, because I'm not ready for the risk of losing my kids," Bethany said.

Bailey (the puppy) has since been adopted. His sister, Carmen, meanwhile, will be in good hands until a safer, "forever" home can be found for her too. Authorities, meantime, will be in close contact with the Rodriquez family for the next 30 days.

The humane society is trying to get the family to surrender a third dog because officials say it's malnourished.

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