PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A woman faces animal cruelty charges after the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said an investigator found four pit bulls living for the past two months in crates stacked inside of a shed that lacked any clean air.
Two dogs in the top crates had some urine and feces in them but the majority of the excrement fell to the dogs housed in the bottom crates, the investigator wrote in a police report. When the door to the shed was opened the smell was so overpowering it caused the investigator's eyes to water, the official said.
The animals in the bottom crates could barely stand and all the cages had one empty bowl with no water or food, according to a probable cause affidavit.
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A later examination by a veterinarian revealed that all of the animals suffered from intestinal parasites and malnutrition and two were grossly underweight, the investigator's report noted.
According to a detective, 27-year-old Samantha Elizabeth Dwarka said her boyfriend moved out two months ago leaving the dogs behind at the home in the 5000 block of Bahama Court. When asked if she knew there were dogs in the shed, Dwarka said she did but she did not care for them and did not want anything to do with them, the police report said.
PBSO charged her with four counts of animal cruelty and four counts of confinement of animals without sufficient food, water or exercise.
Since the dogs were taken in by Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control they have received proper care and have gained weight, the detective noted in the probable cause affidavit.
