Sparkle was found dead in a backyard cage in Golden Gate, Florida, with metal wire securing the door so she could not get out. She had no food or water. Deputies say it took them 30 minutes to open the bent cage, which showed that Sparkle had tried to escape.
Sign the petition urging the State Attorney's Office to pursue a lifetime ban on animal ownership and mandatory mental health counseling for both people charged in Sparkle's death.
Deputies say Sparkle was left in the cage in the heat and the rain, and that she was let out only eight times over at least three months. A necropsy found her death was consistent with acute heat stress and hyperthermia. Neighbors say they saw her suffering and tried to report it, and one said she felt as if it was her own dog. Two family members, including Sparkle's legal owner, have now been arrested and charged with aggravated animal cruelty. Deputies say one of them confined her because she had become a nuisance at home.
Someone capable of doing this to a dog clearly isn't in a healthy place, and a charge alone will not change that. A lifetime ban on owning or caring for animals would make sure no other dog ever ends up in their hands. Mandatory mental health counseling would address what led to this, so they get real support and future animals are protected.
Sparkle spent her last months in a cage wired shut, and it took deputies 30 minutes just to open it.
Sign the petition and demand the State Attorney's Office pursue a lifetime ban and mandatory counseling for both people charged in this case.
