5 arrested in animal cruelty case in Tampa

Saturday, November 8, 2008

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Five people were arrested at the Tampa residence Saturday.

TAMPA (Bay News 9) -- A landlord looking to sell his property in Tampa says he found it in shambles.

Saturday afternoon the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office arrested five people from the house, 3015 73rd St. N., on four counts of animal cruelty charges and 11 counts of improper confinement.

Two infants were reported to be living in the home as well. The Department of Children and Families is now caring for the children.

Neighbor Frederick Sears says he can still smell the stench coming from his neighbors' house. Sears says 11 dogs were living on the property.

The dogs were allegedly living in their own feces and Sears says they were not being properly cared for.

"They were not treating those dogs well -- kicking," Sears said. "They mistreated those dogs a lot."

According to Hillsborough County Animal Services, three of the dogs were malnourished, another had a leg injury that was so severe the leg was swollen twice its size, and a Chihuahua was allegedly infested with parasites.

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But Jade Fernandez, a friend of the family, insists the family cared for the animals.

"If they didn't love their animals they wouldn't have so many of them," Fernandez said. "You can see they care about animals; they're just poor."

Investigators say there were no running water and no electricity in the house, and Sears said he watched the family sleep outside a number of times.

Animal services says it has had problems with some of the adults arrested in this cruelty case before. A spokesperson says it involved other animals in a separate incident.