A man was arrested on animal cruelty charges after authorities said two dogs were found hanging from a tree in a backyard in Florida.
Salomon Cruz-Perez, 42, was arrested on two counts of aggravated animal cruelty resulting in death after the disturbing discovery was made at a home in Fort Pierce on Sunday, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office officials said.
Authorities had responded to a call at the home and found the dogs, a male and a female, suspended by their necks from a tree with various ropes and chains.
St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office
St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office Salomon Cruz-Perez
After a search warrant was obtained, investigators discovered the animals were bound around their necks with coaxial cable, paracord, tie-down straps, and chains.
At a news conference on Monday, St. Lucie Sheriff Richard Del Toro said Cruz-Perez had tried to have the dogs euthanized a couple weeks earlier.
“He could have just given the dogs up to the Humane Society,” Del Toro said. “Very disturbing, very disturbing images.”
Cruz-Perez initially tried to claim it was an accident, then said the dogs had tried to kill him in the past, Del Toro said.
“I think what he was talking about is, you know when you’re walking dogs sometimes on a leash, you get tripped up by the leash, he was taking that as you know, the dogs attempted to hurt him in the past,” Del Toro said. “Who knows what his excuses are but there’s no excuse for any type of behavior like that, it’s just a very tragic end for those dogs.”
Del Toro said it was unknown how long Cruz-Perez had owned the dogs and unknown how long they’d been hanging from the tree.
“There’s no way these dogs could have done that this isn’t just an accident, Del Toro said. “I own four dogs myself, I’m an animal lover, just very very sad to see.”
Del Toro said a judge set Cruz-Perez’s bond at $60,000.
The deceased dogs were collected by St. Lucie County Animal Control and will be taken to Orlando for a necropsy to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death.
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