A Manatee County Animal Services employee turned himself in on June 22 after an arrest warrant was issued for him in connection with the death of a dog.

  • Incident occurred on May 17, 2017
  • Fredrick Allen Browning, 35, charged with one count of Animal Cruelty
  • Dog died of heat stroke after being left in a van overnight
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According to a Manatee County Sheriff's Office release, on May 17, 2017, Fredrick Allen Browning, 35, arrived back at the agency's Palmetto office on 25th Street West at the end of his shift and unloaded two deceased dogs he'd collected during the day from his van. At that time, he left a third dog, which was still alive and that he'd collected earlier in the day, in the van.

That dog remained in the van overnight, and was found deceased by another employee the following morning. County officials said on that day Manatee County Animal Services reported the discovery to the Sheriff's Office and requested a criminal investigation.

Further investigation revealed that the dog had died of an apparent heat-related stroke. Browning told investigators that he got into a rush and forgot to remove the dog from the van.

As the Sheriff's Office began their investigation, Browning was placed on unpaid administrative leave. He resigned from the agency on May 25.

The state attorney's office reviewed the case and subsequently issued an arrest warrant for Browning. He is charged with one count of Animal Cruelty.

Following the incident, Animal Services instituted a new policy requiring a second employee to conduct inspections of vehicles by employees at the end of a work shift to avoid similar lapses in the future.