Dog found decomposing in crate inside home - Gainesville, FL

Wednesday, Jun 15, 2011

County: Alachua

Charges: Misdemeanor, Felony CTA
Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Elizabeth Maeve Irby

A waitress has been arrested on animal cruelty charges after investigators found the body of a dog in her apartment that apparently had been dead for a month.

The woman claimed she had walked the dog the day before its carcass was discovered, police reported.

Elizabeth Maeve Irby, 24, of 132 SW 62nd St., who works as a waitress at Gainesville-area restaurants, was arrested at 6 a.m. Thursday on two counts of cruelty to an animal. The dog was identified as a 60-pound adult female mixed-breed German shepherd named Zuna.

Irby told investigators she had owned the dog for the past few years.

Alachua County Animal Services Officer Lin Santerfeit said Zuna was found dead on June 16 by employees of the Hampton Oaks apartment complex where Irby lives. The employees found the dead animal when they entered her apartment as part of a termite inspection.

The employees and investigators said they were met with an overwhelming, putrid smell associated with the rotting carcass.

Irby, along with animal services officers Jay Butts and Roger Hagle, removed Zuna from where she was found -- inside an approximately 3-foot-by-3-foot wire cage. The officers determined the cage was too small to confine Zuna because it was not large enough for her to turn, sit, stand or lie down comfortably. The officers also said it appeared there were containers available for food and water but that they were empty.

Samples of the dead flies and maggots found on Zuna were turned over to a forensic entomologist at the University of Florida, Santerfeit said. The specialist concluded that Zuna died sometime between May 13 and May 19.

During an interview shortly after the dog's remains were found on June 15, Irby told Santerfeit that she had walked Zuna the day before the dog was found dead.

References

• « FL State Animal Cruelty Map
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