Florida Woman Arrested for Putting Unwanted Dog in the Trunk of Her Car

Earlier this week, Sara Perry of Cocoa, Fla., decided she no longer wanted Neptune, the Pit Bull mix she’d been neglecting. Did she do the right thing and try to find the emaciated dog a new, loving forever home?

Nope. Perry brought Neptune to a local animal shelter and told the staff to take him or euthanize him. An employee told her the shelter was full and they don’t euthanize unwanted dogs dumped there. Perry got angry and stormed off with Neptune. She took him back to her car, put him in the trunk — and drove off.

Fortunately, her heinous act was captured on video by a concerned witness. The shelter was able to see her license plate number in the video and contacted the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.

Thanks to that witness’s video, authorities were able to locate Perry and Neptune. Sheriff Wayne Ivey said Neptune was taken to the Brevard County Animal Care Center. A veterinarian who examined Neptune said the dog was extremely malnourished and in very poor health.

Perry was arrested and charged with felony animal abuse “for the despicable way she treated this poor, helpless pet,” Ivey said. “I’m even more proud to share with you that I personally walked Perry into the Brevard County jail, which is exactly where she belongs.” Here, here, Sheriff Ivey!

The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office is working with Florida’s state attorney “to ensure Perry gets everything she deserves, to the full extent of the law,” Ivey said.

“If you harm an animal in Brevard County, we’ll put your butt straight in jail and do everything legally possible to make your life just as miserable as you made that pet’s life,” he added.

To reiterate, “HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT IF YOU ABUSE AN ANIMAL IN BREVARD COUNTY YOU’RE GOING STRAIGHT TO JAIL,” the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Facebook post with the video. It has gone viral, with over 1.3 million views.

“Bitch” is a term used for female dogs, and it also certainly applies to Sara Perry. Here’s hoping she gets the book thrown at her. As Ivey said, someone with zero compassion “shouldn’t be allowed to own a plant, much less a pet.” And here’s hoping poor Neptune recovers and is adopted into the loving home he deserves.

On the disturbing subject of dogs in trunks, here’s a sad-but-true fact: In California, it’s legal to drive with your dog in the trunk of your car. In December 2015 a driver in Los Angeles was shocked to see two Huskies poke their heads out of the partially open trunk of the car in front of him.

The driver, who told a local news station she was only driving a short distance, was apparently not breaking any laws. California vehicle code 23117 simply requires that any animal that’s transported on highways in the back of a vehicle “in a space intended for any load” (the trunk or bed of a truck, for instance) to be “either cross-tethered to the vehicle or protected by a secured container or cage, to prevent the animal from falling, jumping, or being thrown from the vehicle.” The woman had tied a bungee cord to the trunk door to prevent it from opening all the way.

The ASPCA and the LAPD Animal Cruelty Task Force investigated the incident. Believe it or not, the woman wasn’t charged with animal cruelty or endangerment. Still, all you dog owners in California, there are much safer ways to transport your pet…inside your vehicle.

Photos: Brevard Sheriff/YouTube