The Palm Beach Post, Fla. –
A Boynton Beach mother and her son have been charged with animal abuse after a dog was found emaciated and tied to the bumper of an abandoned car in the woman’s backyard.
Hattie Isiah and Andrew Michael Jones, 28, were given a notice appear in court Aug. 2. They have been charged with cruelty to animals and unlawful confinement of animals.
Boynton Beach Police responded to Isiah’s home at 85 Flamingo Dr. on Feb. 12 to reports of a neglected dog confined in a backyard.
Before the officers could see the dog, they say Isiah immediately said she did not know the dog was on her property and therefore was not responsible for it, according to the probable cause affidavit. When officers walked to the back of the property, they found a male pit bull tied to an abandoned car. The dog’s ribs, hips and spine bones were visible and he had a skin condition.
“The dog continually scratched as it sat in the dirt surrounding the vehicle,” the officer wrote in the affidavit.
There was no shelter to keep the dog from the elements and there was no food or potable water present. There was a green, algae-laden water in a metal kitchen pot.
When the dog was given dog biscuits, he ate them frantically, according to the report.
Eventually, Jones showed up at his mother’s home and told the officers that his friend had brought the dog over because he could not take care of it. Jones initially said “Stutter” — a man who died in a car crash Dec. 25 — had brought the dog over a few weeks ago, the affidavit said.
Jones then said that he came over to his mother’s house “every few days” to give the dog food because he no longer lived at her house. He eventually said that the dog has been with him for about two months.
The dog was taken to the Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control where a veterinarian said the dog had internal parasites and was flea-infested. After the dog was dewormed, he was given the name “Buddy.” He gained 13.6 pounds in nine days, eventually weighing 43.6 pounds, according to the affidavit.
Unfortunately, Buddy was unpredictable and tried to bite multiple staff at Animal Care and Control. Officials couldn’t find a rescue group that would work with him and he couldn’t be put up for adoption because of his temperament so he had to be euthanized.
