Six foot boa constrictor, dog left in dumpster
St. Petersburg, FL (US)

Incident Date: Sunday, May 20, 2012
County: Pinellas

Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Name Undisclosed

The little mixed-breed dog acts rather shy around strangers. He goes by the name Recycle.

He was discovered in a dumpster along with a six-foot boa constrictor when St. Petersburg Police were called to Flagler Pointe apartments early Sunday morning.

The snake suffered severe trauma to its head and died several hours later. The dog is being cared for at Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation in St. Pete.

Vernon Yates is the director of the refuge.

"No matter how you look at it, leaving the animals alive in the dumpster is just not the right thing to do," said Yates.

They named the little guy Recycle because someone threw him away and they're going to recycle him to a new home.

"We've had calls, lots of calls from people as far away as California of people wanting to adopt him," recalled Yates.

Now, in a strange, but sad twist, St. Pete Police discovered the owner of the animals by chance.

"As it turns out, that night after this incident where the dog and the snake were placed into the dumpster, apparently this man took his bike and went downtown. We received a call about him acting very strangely. One of our officers made contact with him, and he was taken into custody under the Baker Act," explained St. Pete Police spokesperson Mike Puetz.

Police later learned the man was responsible for the cruel act to the animals. The dog is in good health, but suffered from the ordeal.

As for the unnamed man, "He did apparently have some sort of mental breakdown. He was taken into custody under the Baker Act. And as it appears at this point it looks like, we haven't made an arrest or charged him yet, we going to go take that information to the State's Attorney's office and let them try to make some decisions. Obviously, his mental state is going to play some factor in this," said Puetz.

References

• « FL State Animal Cruelty Map
  « More cases in Pinellas County, FL

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