South Florida woman avoids prosecution in animal cruelty case
A FEW MINUTES. ALL RIGHT CHRIS, THANK YOU. THE MARTIN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE HAS A NEW TOOL TO HELP THEM SOLVE CASES. AN OTTER. YES. YOU HEARD RIGHT. AN OTTER. SHE SAID OTTER. REPORTER ANGELA ROZIER INTRODUCES US TO SPLASH. THE OTTER SHOWS US HOW THE ANIMAL CAN HELP IN CERTAIN INVESTIGATIONS. WELL, THE SHERIFF HERE IN MARTIN COUNTY SAYS THIS IS AN INNOVATIVE TOOL THEY CAN USE TO HELP SOLVE THE CASES. SORRY, I FEEL BAD. YOU’RE SO SMART. SPLASH WAS THE OTTER OF THE HOUR HERE AT THE MARTIN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE THURSDAY MORNING. YOU CAN’T BLAME THEM. JUST LOOK AT THAT FACE. HE POSED FOR PHOTOS. MAKES SENSE. HE HAS HIS OWN INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT. HE LOVES GETTING A PAT ON THE BACK AND EVEN KISSES THE TWO YEAR OLD ASIAN SMALL CLAWED OTTER ISN’T JUST ANOTHER PRETTY FACE. HE HAS A VERY PARTICULAR SET OF SPECIAL SKILLS. IN FLORIDA, WE HAVE A PROBLEM WITH ALLIGATORS. THEY GRAB REMAINS AND THEY STUFF THEM SOMEWHERE AND VERY HARD TO FIND BECAUSE MOST OF THE TIME WE’RE DIVING IN WATER THAT IS, YOU KNOW, LESS THAN TWO INCHES OF VISIBILITY. SO WE’RE EVERYTHING’S TACTILE, WE’RE TOUCHING EVERYWHERE, AND WE MISS THEM. YOU KNOW, WE CAN’T FIND THEM. HE DOESN’T HAVE THAT PROBLEM. SO HE CAN GO RIGHT DOWN THERE AND SHOW US WHERE IT IS. SPLASH IS TRAINED IN HUMAN REMAINS DETECTION, AND HE’S PART OF THE DIVE TEAM. HE AND HIS TRAINER ARE WITH PEACE RIVER CANINE SEARCH AND RESCUE, A SOUTHWEST FLORIDA BASED NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION. SHERIFF JOHN BOYNTON BEACH BELIEVES HIS SPECIALIZED TRAINING MAKES HIM AN ASSET TO SEARCH AND RECOVERY EFFORTS RIGHT HERE. YES, WE WILL. AND AGAIN, WE HAVE 1 OR 2 MISSING INDIVIDUALS A YEAR THAT ARE IN BODIES OF WATER. AND IF WE CAN’T FIND THEM IMMEDIATELY THROUGH REGULAR DIVING TECHNIQUES, WE ABSOLUTELY WILL DO THAT. SPLASH HAS BEEN IN MORE THAN 20 MISSIONS. I’M TRYING TO PUT THE ODDS IN OUR FAVOR SO WE GET MORE RECOVERIES. AND THAT’S THAT’S WHAT THE OTTERS FOR. HE’S STILL YOUNG AND HAS PLENTY OF WORK LEFT TO DO. I THINK WE’LL BE GOOD AT TEN YEARS FOR HIM, AND THEN HE’LL RETIRE ON THE COUCH AND WATCH ANIMAL PLANET, I GUESS. I DON’T KNOW, BUT I
South Florida woman avoids prosecution in animal cruelty case
Updated: 2:33 PM EDT Oct 31, 2025
Video above: A 2-year-old otter is helping deputies in Florida with water searchesA woman accused of leaving her dog inside her vehicle in Lake Worth Beach will not face prosecution.According to court documents, an animal cruelty charge against Jacqualine L. Darr was dismissed on June 12 by the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office.Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 NewsAccording to court documents, Darr entered into a pretrial intervention agreement with the state attorney’s office on March 20.If Darr completed 30 hours of community service at an animal shelter or similar, pays court costs, does not break any law and donates to an animal shelter by June 16, the State Attorney’s Office would drop the charges.Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.Darr satisfied all the requirements of the agreement.
PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. —
Video above: A 2-year-old otter is helping deputies in Florida with water searches
A woman accused of leaving her dog inside her vehicle in Lake Worth Beach will not face prosecution.
According to court documents, an animal cruelty charge against Jacqualine L. Darr was dismissed on June 12 by the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office.
Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 News
According to court documents, Darr entered into a pretrial intervention agreement with the state attorney’s office on March 20.
If Darr completed 30 hours of community service at an animal shelter or similar, pays court costs, does not break any law and donates to an animal shelter by June 16, the State Attorney’s Office would drop the charges.
Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
Darr satisfied all the requirements of the agreement.