A Florida woman has been arrested and charged with animal abuse after she was caught on video stuffing her emaciated dog into a car trunk.
A video, which was posted on Facebook by the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, shows a woman, identified as Sara Perry, 27, of Cocoa, Florida, opening the trunk of her car and then moving items aside before pulling the dog’s leash until he jumps up into the trunk.
As the dog, Neptune, struggles to make it inside, Perry, who is standing near a young child, appears to grab Neptune by its collar so she can push the dog all the way into the trunk. She then slams the trunk closed.
Sara Perry, 27, was arrested and charged with animal abuse after she was caught on video shoving her malnourished dog into the trunk of her car
Video footage showed Perry yanking on the dog’s leash and moving things around in her trunk
Perry could then be seen leading the dog into the trunk and pushing it inside when it got stuck
The video ends with Perry, in handcuffs, being escorted into the police station on Thursday.
‘If you harm an animal in Brevard County we’re gonna put your butt straight in jail and do everything legally possible to make your life just as miserable as you made that pet’s life,’ Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said in the post.
Investigators told Click Orlando that the surveillance video also showed Perry initially parking her car, before opening the trunk to get the dog out.
Perry was said to have gone to the Humane Society of Brevard County the day the surveillance video was shot, saying that she wanted to surrender Neptune to the shelter.
When shelter workers told her that the shelter was full — there are 42 dogs currently occupying 29 dog runs, an official told the news station — Perry supposedly asked about putting the dog down.
Authorities arrested Perry Thursday. She told them she could not afford to feed the dog
A veterinarian said the dog was severely emaciated and suffered muscle mass loss
The dog’s ribs and pelvic bones, among others, could be seen clearly through its fur
‘She asked if we would euthanize it and we said we do not euthanize animals just because people don’t want them and she got angry, so we gave her the information to go to another shelter,’ Humane Society of Brevard County executive director Theresa Clifton told Click Orlando.
After seeing the way Perry yanked on Neptune’s leash as they left, Clifton said shelter workers called 911.
Police were then able to track down Perry from a picture of her license plate. A canny worker took the photo of before she drove away.
Clifton said that the shelter workers did not know that Perry had taken the dog out of the trunk or put it back inside until after the surveillance video was viewed.
‘Had we known that she was doing that, we would have never allowed her to leave our facility,’ Clifton said.
Police said that they went to Perry’s home Thursday morning to check on the dog and that she told them that she could not feed the dog, Click Orlando reported.
A veterinarian said that Neptune was so severely emaciated that he was losing muscle mass.
Pictures of the dog show clearly visible ribs and pelvic bones.
‘The abuse of this innocent pet makes absolutely no sense and can only be attributed to someone who has zero compassion for animals, and quite frankly, shouldn’t be allowed to even own a plant, much less a pet,’ Ivey said, also calling Perry’s alleged act ‘despicable.’
Perry was arrested on an animal cruelty charge. She has since been released from the Brevard County Jail after posting bail.
Ivey said that ‘The abuse of this innocent pet makes absolutely no sense and can only be attributed to someone who has zero compassion for animals, and frankly, shouldn’t be allowed to own a plant let alone a pet.’
Perry was scheduled to make her first appearance before a judge Friday. Jail records indicate that she has been released after posting a $2,000 bond.
She is now awaiting trial.