Florida authorities arrest pet owner in Fort Myers after dog tethered to a post was found dead

Authorities in Florida arrested a pet owner after a dog tethered to a post for hours was later found dead, officials said.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office said deputies received a call on July 11 after the caller noticed a pit bull tethered to a post outside in the scorching summer heat. Deputies responded to the home on Edison Avenue in Fort Myers and found the animal dead. They subsequently arrested the dog’s owner, 34-year-old Jade Green.

Detectives from the Animal Cruelty Task Force launched an investigation and learned the dog, a 5-year-old pit bull mix named Los, was tied to a pole in the backyard for several hours without food, water or shelter, authorities said.

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“It sickens me that another defenseless animal was killed due to the incompetence of its owner,” Sheriff Carmine Marceno said in a statement. “We will always protect those that cannot protect themselves.”

Lee County deputies said that thermometer readings of the dog recorded a 104 F surface temperature. An internal temperature was too high to be measured, they said.

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“There wasn’t even shade where this defenseless dog could get a break from the scorching sun,” they added in a statement. “It was obvious Los suffered an agonizing death.”

Officials with the Lee County Domestic Animal Services shared that they took custody of the dog’s body in order to perform a necropsy.

Green was charged with aggravated animal cruelty, the sheriff’s office said in a statement on the incident.