Man Arrested for Dumping Neighbor's Shih Tzu in Dumpster
A man was arrested on Monday for dumping his neighbors' 16-year-old Shih Tzu in a dumpster, police said.
Anthony Bellman, 55, was charged with aggravated animal cruelty, according to Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno.
According to authorities, employees of a Family Dollar in Lehigh Acres, Florida, made a disturbing discovery on December 14. They found a moving trash bag inside the dumpster. Upon opening the bag, they found a Shih Tzu named Xyla with a rope around her neck.
Detectives and officials from the county's Animal Cruelty Task Force quickly responded to the scene. They reviewed surveillance footage which showed Bellman taking a black trash bag out of his trunk and callously tossing it into the dumpster from several feet away before driving off.
"You can see in this video that he has zero regard for Xyla," said Marceno. "No living thing deserves to be discarded like common trash."
Marceno praised his detectives for their swift action in locating the suspect based on the video evidence.
During the investigation, detectives discovered that Xyla had a microchip, but unfortunately her original owners had passed away.
The suspect's vehicle was tracked by detectives to a nearby residence. When they knocked on the door, Bellman answered wearing the same clothes as the person seen in the footage. He was taken in for questioning, according to the police.
Further investigation revealed that Bellman had informed his family that he was taking Xyla to the Humane Society to be euthanized.
Bellman was subsequently arrested and, if convicted, will be included in the county's Animal Abuse registry, the police stated.
"Hospital examinations determined that Xyla was on the brink of a painful death," said Marceno. "If she hadn't been found, her final moments would have been akin to drowning from the inside out."
Xyla is currently recovering, and officials from Lee County Domestic Animal Services are collaborating with the State Attorney's office to find her a caring home.
