BUSTED For Animal Cruelty

On Tuesday April 8, 2014 Deputies the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office along with Animal Care and Control Officers responded to 10026 Boynton Pl. Cir. #531 Boynton Beach, Fla. in reference to a complaint of a dog being abused. When the officers arrived they noticed a large blue and white male Pit Bull dog located in a small cage on the third floor balcony of the apartment complex. The dog had what appeared to be duct tape wrapped around his mouth. The officers approached apartment and made contact with a male who identified himself as XXXXXXXXX. When questioned about the dog in the cage on the balcony XXXXXXXX stated that the dog belongs to his roommate Andrea Curiel who was not home at the time. When the officers walked out to the balcony they discovered the blue and white Pit Bull dog sitting in a small wire cage which was covered in urine and feces. The dog had duct tape wrapped around his mouth and secured to the back of his head. The dog was overheated, in distress and was whining heavily. The dog had what appeared to be urine burns on his feet and testicles and his eyes appeared to be red. There was no water or food available in the cage.

After speaking with XXXXXXXX, the dog was removed from the cage and taken to Animal Care and Control for emergency medical attention. The dog was treated by Doctor XXXXXXXX. In her report the doctor stated that when the dog first arrived his temperature was severely elevated at 103.8. On his face was a large and extensive muzzle made of duct tape wrapped around his head and mouth. Both his upper and lower lips were severely swollen and both his eyes were bloodshot with severe conjunctivitis. When the tape was removed, every area of his skin which contacted the duct tape was moderately to severely inflamed and reddened. These areas included the underside of his neck, chin, cheeks, back of head and both ears. He reeked of urine and feces, his feet and tail were covered in dried diarrhea. Upon examination of his feet, it was determined that he had severe irritation, swelling and redness between his toes, on the top and underside of all four feet. His scrotal sac was also severely inflamed with swelling and redness similar to that seen on his feet.

In her conclusion Doctor XXXXXXX stated that the dog was forced to reside in an environment that was caustic to his survival, damaging to his health and deprived of the basic necessities of food, water and adequate shelter. To place an animal in this standard of living knowing that he would be confided to it for hours is disgraceful. It is highly likely the dog would have perished had he remained in this repulsive environment much longer.

On Thursday April 17, 2014 ,investigators from the PBSO Agricultural Crime Unit located and interviewed the defendant Andrea Curiel.. During questioning the defendant admitted that the dog in question (“Sasuke”) belongs to her. She stated that she has owned “Sasuke” since September 2013. The defendant stated that on Monday night April 7th she took “Sasuke” out for a walk. When she got back into the apartment she feed “Sasuke” and put him in the cage out on the balcony. Reportedly at approximately 6:45AM the next morning she went out on the balcony and noticed that the dog had been sick during the night. She noticed diarrhea all over the cage. The defendant stated that she was running late for work and also had to get her two kids to school. She stated that she made the decision to leave the dog in the cage and would return home during her lunch hour to clean up the mess. She stated that she was afraid that the dog would bark and make noise so she wrapped duct tape around his mouth to keep him quiet. She was afraid that if he kept barking she would get into trouble with the apartment management. At the conclusion of the interview the defendant admitted that she should not have left her dog covered in urine and diarrhea without food or water when she left the apartment to go to work. She stated that she panicked when she decided to duct tape the dog’s mouth shut.