A memorial marker now adorns a tree where a dog was found dead and tied to a tree. A volunteer who helps feed stray dogs recently made the disturbing discovery in Southwest Miami-Dade.
It took county officials more than a week to show up to the gruesome scene of what appears to be a case of animal abuse. NBC 6 Investigators discovered the reason behind the delay that has angered some animal advocates.
Kayla Harris helped locate the remains of the dog near the corner of SW 112th Avenue and SW 280th Street. She, along with two others, reported it to Miami Dade County’s 311 Service using an electronic app on her cell phone. That was February 12th.
However, eight days later, the animal still hadn’t been picked up. Miami-Dade resident Virginia Dieppa first read about what happened on Facebook.
“It’s outrageous, a horrendous crime,” said Dieppa. “Something’s not right here."
When she learned animal services officials still hadn’t shown up to investigate, she decided to call police.
Miami-Dade County officers showed up and launched a criminal investigation.
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The NBC 6 Investigators went to the Director of Miami-Dade Animal Services to find out what happened with the original call for help.
Director Alex Munoz said the case was originally reported as a “Dead Animal Pickup” to 311 and ultimately to his department.
Munoz said when an animal control officer went to the location, he could not find the dog and the case was closed. Munoz said the case would have been treated differently if it was reported as a case of animal cruelty.
“Tethering alone is illegal,” Munoz said. “If that dog was tethered and abandoned that would be an animal cruelty investigation."
Miami-Dade Animal Services is now doing a forensic investigation to try to find out how the dog died and who was responsible. Meanwhile, detectives with Miami-Dade Police are doing an investigation of their own.
“I hope that they can find whoever did this, I hope they can collect the evidence, hopefully they can pull some fingerprints off the collar of the dog, said Dieppa.
Volunteers used the County’s 311 app to report the animal. Director Munoz said to report a serious concern you can also call the County’s 311 service and speak to someone directly to voice your concerns.
The NBC6 Investigators have been working for the past few weeks on an investigation into stray and abandoned dogs in the County. They’ll show you want they found Monday on NBC6 News.
