PINE MANOR, Fla. (CBS12) — A convicted felon has been accused of animal cruelty and abandonment after his two bulldogs were found in horrific conditions, resulting in the tragic death of one dog from heat stress, while the other was left to suffer in filth.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) said that on July 11, deputies responded to a report of two dogs being left outside in crates with no food or water at a home on 7th Avenue in Pine Manor.
According to LCSO, the owner, Jerry Speed III, had moved out two weeks prior and left behind his two bulldogs named Chloe and Princess.
Deputies reported finding six-year-old Princess covered in feces and standing in brown water within a crate.
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Chloe, who is only one, was found dead, and a necropsy revealed she died from heat stress and a stroke.
LCSO said that temperatures prior to finding the two dogs were in the 90s.
Speed III was allegedly already in the Lee County Jail for a probation violation when his warrant was served.
Officials detailed that Speed III is a convicted felon with a history of violent charges, including that he was most recently released from prison in October 2024 after serving six and a half years for fleeing law enforcement in Lee County.
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