This chip-loving Florida Keys Deer must have thought its chips were down when it managed to get it’s head stuck in a bag of Doritos chips.
This is a special deer which is a miniature subspecies of the white-tailed deer found only in the Lower Keys.
The critter is now breathing, eating and drinking better thanks to a deputy who removed the Doritos bag from its head, according to a news release from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
NEW PORT RICHEY (FOX 13) – It was a promise of a second chance, but 4-year-old Rottweiler rescue Gipper’s new life ended just days after it began.
New Port Richey Police say the dog’s death was caused by his brand-new owner, 47-year old Brian Perry.
“They have a bunch of dogs. It’s very shocking that that would happen,” Perry’s neighbor, Duke Carmack said Tuesday.
Police say Gipper got loose from his home, ran over to a neighbor’s house and starting barking at their dogs through a screen enclosure. A witness told police Perry then ran outside and started beating the dog with his fists.
“This was a 86.5 pound Rottweiler that was hit, supposedly with the fists and only with the fists, but with enough force to cause the dog to die,” New Port Richey Police Officer Lauren Letona said.
The dog was adopted from a south Florida Rottweiler rescue group just two weeks ago.
“In 30 years that I have been involved with Rottweilers, especially doing rescues, I have never encountered an incident like this,” Gulfstream Guardian Angels Rottweiler Rescue President Grace Acosta said Tuesday.
Acosta says the couple cleared the group’s background checks. The rescue even posted pictures to their website of Gipper heading home, saying his new owners are “in love with hi.”
“These people that adopted this dog from us went through the whole thing. We had excellent vet reports, we had someone visit their home, checking the home. It was approved. And they came with their own dog to meet with us,” Acosta said.
Perry’s wife told FOX 13 that Gipper was violent. She says Perry was trying to protect the neighbor’s pets.
Police say there’s no excuse.
“I think it was disturbing to everyone involved. I actually lost sleep over it,” Officer Letona said.
New Port Richey Police say Perry admits to beating the dog, but he won’t tell them where he put the body. Perry is charged with animal cruelty.
Thomas R. Quinlan opened the unlocked door of a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office patrol car and leaned in over the front seat. Within minutes he would be in the back of another.
That’s because the deputy who drives the marked vehicle was watching the whole time from inside a nearby business, according to an arrest report.
Quinlan, 25, of Boynton Beach, was arrested early Wednesday after the deputy saw him lurking near his parked Sheriff’s Office car at 1333 S. Congress Ave. in Boynton Beach, the report stated.
“I went outside as he was entering my car,” the deputy wrote in his report. “The male was hunched over inside the car and appeared to be reaching for something.”
Quinlan got out of the car and stood up. The deputy grabbed him near the left shoulder and put him on the ground, then in handcuffs.
Another man, Joshua Craver, 23, also of Boynton Beach, was with Quinlan, deputies said. He appeared to be filming the incident on his phone.
When another deputy tried to talk to him, Craver walked away, the report said. Craver was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of resisting an officer without violence.
Asked why he got into the patrol car, Quinlan said he wanted to let the dog out, deputies said.
The deputy noted that Quinlan would’ve had no access to the K-9 because it was in the back, behind the partition.
There were no weapons in the patrol car and nothing appeared to be missing, the deputy wrote in his report.
A deputy “delivered several knee strikes” to Quinlan when he refused to get into another patrol car, the report said.
Both men were booked into the Palm Beach County Jail. Craver was released early Wednesday.
Quinlan, facing a felony charge of burglary to an emergency vehicle and a misdemeanor charge of resisting an officer without violence, remained in custody Wednesday afternoon in lieu of a $2,500 bond.
TAMPA, Florida – Dozens of cats and kittens are being cared for at the Hillsborough County Animal Services, after they were removed from a home Thursday.
According to animal services officials, most of the 32 cats are in good general health and are being treated for fleas and upper respiratory infections.
The cats were removed from a house along Annette Avenue, when deputies went to serve an eviction notice on the foreclosed home. According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, deputies walked in to the stench of cat urine and feces, with the animals running loose inside. Investigators said they also found a total of 22 dead cats, including 15 put in a freezer.
James Hopkins was arrested and made his first appearance in court Friday. The 66-year-old is being held on $2,000 bond and charged with one count of Animal Cruelty and 20 counts of Unlawful Confinement of an Animal. It’s believed he was squatting in the home.
Animal Services officials said an emergency hearing will be held next week to gain custody of the cats. If that goes through, the animals should be ready for adoption within a few weeks.
This is the third major case of animal cruelty to be discovered in the Bay area this week. On Wednesday, 50 cats and three dogs were found inside a U-Haul trailer that was abandoned outside a Spring Hill Publix. Most of the cats had to be euthanized and the owner, 50-year-old Frances Terry Evans, was arrested.
Then on Thursday, dozens of animals were removed from a home in Holiday. Charges are pending in that case.
On May 21, 2013 at approximately 1:25 p.m., the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Communications Center received a call from a Pasco County Code Enforcement Official regarding them observing a U-Haul Truck full of animals reference an active case they are working. They located the vehicle to the rear of the Publix on County Line Road and Mariner Boulevard where it was apparently abandoned. Hernando County Deputies and Animal Services Officers were dispatched to the scene.
Upon arrival, units located the U-Haul and could hear animals in obvious distress inside the vehicle. The door to the U-Haul was opened and “numerous” animals inside plastic containers (similar to Tupperware containers) were located inside. The temperature inside the back of the truck was extremely hot.
The Pasco Code Enforcement Officials identified the driver and owner of the animals as Frances Terry Evans W/F DOB/ 08-02-1960; due to the active case they were working regarding animal hoarding. They believed she took the animals to the Publix parking lot in an effort to hide them, as she was court ordered to turn them over to Pasco County officials by 05-21-13.
The Hernando County Animal Service Officers on scene determined that there were 50 cats on board and three dogs. It was also determined that most, if not all, of the animals were in need of immediate veterinary attention. Due to the rapid deteriorating condition of the animals, Pasco County Code Enforcement Officials refusal to accept the animals, and the extreme heat environment, Hernando County Animal Services Officers rightly determined that immediate and emergency veterinary attention was necessary. The animals were transported to Hernando County Animal Services facility for care.
On 05-21-13 Evans was issued one citation for 53 counts of Animal Abandonment. The fine for this is $500 per count, totaling $26,500. After conferring with the State Attorney’s Office, a warrant has been obtained for 53 counts of Animal Cruelty, with a total bond of $26,500.
A taqueria in Florida has pulled lion meat tacos off the menu after it caused an uproar among customers.
Taco Fusion in Tampa is known for serving exotic game like shark, gazelle, ostrich, beaver and even camel in its tacos, Tampa TV station WFTS reported.
But it was lion meat that apparently crossed the line.
A wildlife group and several customers were outraged by the decision, saying an animal in danger of extinction doesn’t belong on a menu.
“There is obviously an animal welfare concern and there is a bigger picture,” Jeff Kremer with Big Cat Rescue told WFTS. “The bigger concern is where do we, as society, draw the line for what is acceptable for moral and ethical behavior.”
Initially, Taco Fusion’s owners said if you don’t like it, don’t eat it.
But they have since decided to stop selling the $35 tacos.
“Thank you all for the feedback regarding the lion meat promotion at Taco Fusion,” the owners said on the restaurant’s website. “Some of you were supportive, some of you were angry. We listened to everyone and decided to no longer carry lion.”
An Orlando, Florida taco restaurant is cooking up controversy with the latest addition to their menu: lion meat tacos.
It’s creating a roar among customers of Taco Fusion, and critics alike.
The dish isn’t for the faint of heart when it comes to your taste buds or your budget — a pound of the meat costs about 220 dollars. So just one taco will set you back about 35 dollars.
The restaurant calls it exotic, but some animal activists say it’s exploitation.
Big Cat Rescue says lions aren’t endangered, so they aren’t protected as well as other animals. They say the exotic meat industry is booming and the USDA still hasn’t caught up.
Taco Fusion says they get the lion’s meat from major vendors right here in the U.S., a lot of it in Illinois. And as long as it’s safe and legal, they’ll keep it on the menu.
NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. —A Tampa Bay area man has been charged with beating four pit bull puppies to death with a shovel.
The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office reports that 21-year-old David Lee Thompson went to a New Port Richey mobile home Friday to help his friend move. The friend and his father began discussing what to do with the puppies since the son couldn’t afford to keep them. An arrest reports says the father suggested taking the puppies into the woods and killing them.
The son told deputies he “didn’t have the guts,” so Thompson reportedly killed the puppies. The three men buried the animals and scattered dead leaves on the site.
The friend’s stepmother learned about the puppies and contacted animal services.
Thompson was charged Saturday with animal cruelty. He was being held on $5,000 bail.
The other men weren’t charged.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man for beating a dog to death and burglarizing two local businesses where the crime occurred.
On Sunday morning, the owner arrived at John’s Automotive on Snug Harbor Place in Sarasota and called the sheriff’s office to report the four-year-old Mastiff named “Ashton” was missing. Later that day he reviewed video surveillance and saw horrific images of a man beating his dog to death. When deputies returned, the man identified the suspect at Kevin Koscielniak, DOB 3/10/61 (no permanent address), an employee who was asked to leave Saturday after causing a disturbance.
The investigation determined that Koscielniak climbed over a barbed wire fence, killed the dog with a tire iron, wrapped the dog in a blanket, cut the fence to Casey’s Auto, an adjacent business, dragged the dog onto that property and buried it there.
Koscielniak was located by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office and arrested. He is charged with one count of Cruelty to Animals Resulting in Death, one count of Improper Disposal of Dead Animals, two counts of Burglary, one count of Tampering with Evidence and one count for damaging the fence. He is being held on $7,620 bond.
On April 23, Charlotte County detectives accompanied Charlotte County Animal Control officers to property on Oil Well Road in Punta Gorda to serve a search warrant concerning livestock at the residence being neglected or abused. After the resident, Pablo Cauz, 49, of 32680 Oil Well Road in Punta Gorda, was advised of the search warrant, detectives entered a detached garage and found what appeared to be a grow house operation in two separate rooms.
