Polk deputies said a dog had to be euthanized after his owner nearly starved him to death, which likely caused the animal to eat sand.

Walter Manuel, 52, of Winter Haven, was arrested Thursday on felony charges of animal cruelty.

According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, animal control officers received an anonymous call Wednesday about a severely malnourished dog in the yard of a home on Carefree Cove Drive.

When officers arrived, they said they found a tan pit bull mix in very poor health. Manuel surrendered the 3-year-old dog to Animal Control, who then took the dog to their veterinarian.

The veterinarian examined the dog and found he weighed 44 pounds, and that his skeleton was visible through his skin, the report said. The dog was in "severe distress" and had serious breathing problems, officials said.

The veterinarian said the animal was suffering immensely and needed to be euthanized, which she performed later that afternoon, officials said.

A necropsy on the dog found the dog's esophagus was thickened to the point that the dog could barely swallow, the report said. The veterinarian said the thickening was chronic and had happened over time, which caused the dog to lose weight. The dog also had a systemic lung infection.

The veterinarian also said the dog's stomach was 75 percent full of sand. Investigators said they presume the dog was without food to the point where he was eating dirt. Officials said the dog had nearly starved to death.

"The dog suffered a cruel life from lack of proper care and Veterinarian care over an extended period of time," the PCSO report said.

Manuel was arrested at his job on Thursday and taken to Polk County Jail. They said he did not speak with deputies when he was arrested.

“We take animal cruelty very seriously in Polk County," Sheriff Grady Judd said. "Anyone who would treat an animal like this - watching it starve to death - deserves to be held accountable by our criminal justice system, and should never again be allowed to own animals.”