A man was found and arrested on animal cruelty charges after allegedly abandoning his dog along a desolate road in Florida.
Yunio Lopez, 37, of West Palm Beach traveled to Martin County with the intent of leaving his German shepherd behind, tying the dog up and muzzling it. Lopez was arrested and booked into Martin County jail on Friday.
“He couldn’t eat, drink or bark, and he was too weak to free himself from what was close to being his painful final hours tied to a fence on a road less traveled,” the Martin County Sheriff’s Office described the dog known as “Maverick” in its original Facebook post. “It is unclear how long Maverick suffered without food and water, but we do know that MCSO Animal Services Officer Tabitha Queen and Detective Christine Polizzi didn’t let his suffering go without a thorough investigation.”
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The sheriff’s office has a K-9 unit of its own featuring German shepherds. It reported in a now-removed Facebook post that Maverick is doing well but is not yet up for adoption. The office opted to remove the post to stop the “extremely emotionally-charged” responses it was receiving in the form of comments, according to Public Information Officer Christine Weiss.
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Florida law states “a person who unnecessarily overloads, overdrives, torments, deprives of necessary sustenance or shelter” any animal could face a first-degree misdemeanor charge and up to a $5,000 fine.
