Florida Man Arrested For Hanging Pet Dog By Leash, Throwing Body Into Bushes

Police arrested a Florida man for animal cruelty after he hung his pet dog by the leash before throwing its dead body into the bushes.

According to the reports, Lake Wales Police arrested Cesar Sanchez after they received a surveillance video from a good Samaritan who witnessed the incident. The identity of the witness was not revealed.

According to the police affidavit, during the June 7 incident, the 36-year-old was seen hanging his pet Chihuahua by the neck with the leash before throwing away its lifeless body into the bushes in the 700 block of Miami Street in Lake Wales.

Police said Sanchez lifted the animal up by the leash and began shaking it violently when it resisted walking. The affidavit stated Sanchez then wrapped the leash around the dog’s neck and lifted it into the air “with approximately one foot of slack from the leash."

Sanchez, after strangulating the animal, threw its body into the bushes near a pond. He was seen looking back a couple of times, but the affidavit stated he did not attempt to rescue the dog.

During the interrogation, Sanchez told the police he was mad at the dog for laying down on some furniture. He confessed to dangling the dog by the leash, shaking and throwing it. He told the officers he did not know whether the Chihuahua was dead or alive.

The affidavit stated Sanchez confessed he felt bad for what he did and told officers he wanted to go back to the pond to find the dog and repent for what he did.

Sanchez told officers that even though he was aware he could surrender the dog to Animal Control, it did not stop him from committing the crime as he was not thinking straight because of his anger and desperation.

Sanchez was arrested and booked into the Polk County Jail. He was charged with one count of felony cruelty to a dog, and no bond was set for him.