FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK) — A Fort Myers woman was arrested and charged with aggravated animal cruelty after authorities say she killed her dog.
Lee County deputies arrested 49-year-old Colleen Rae Talley following an investigation that began on Wednesday. Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said a family member called authorities asking them to check on the dog, believing it had been killed.
Investigators with the LCSO Animal Cruelty Task Force responded and later obtained a search warrant for the home on Lemon Road. Detectives said they found a freshly dug grave in the backyard where the dog had been buried.
Marceno said investigators believe Talley put a garbage bag over the dog’s head and strangled it, causing its death.
Talley was charged with aggravated animal cruelty, a felony under Florida law. Marceno called the case disturbing and said the sheriff’s office has “zero tolerance” for animal abuse in Lee County.
Talley was booked into the Lee County Jail on a $5,000 bond.
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