Florida Woman Left Pet Dogs To Die Inside Truck, Paid Friend To Dispose Of Carcasses

A Florida woman has been arrested after she intentionally left two pet dogs to die inside a pickup truck. She later paid a friend to dispose of the carcasses.

Eugena Blake, 66, was charged with animal cruelty Wednesday for leaving the canines unattended in their crates inside a U-Haul truck for four days. The temperature in the state had soared to 87 degrees on those days, said Brevard County Sheriff's Office, Clickorlando reported.

Blake was recently evicted from her old apartment and had to move to a friend's one-bedroom flat. Since pets weren't allowed in the apartment, the woman left her dogs, Baby and Lucky, inside the truck that was used to shift her belongings to the new address.

After the dogs died, Blake asked her daughter to drive her to a nearby establishment and bought a garbage bag, investigators said.

Blake then paid a friend, who was struggling financially, $20 to dispose of the carcasses and clean the truck. The incident came to light after a homeless man discovered the carcasses, which were still in their crates, and alerted authorities.

Deputies from Brevard County Sheriff's Office's animal cruelty unit were able to identify the dogs. When questioned, Blake confessed to intentionally leaving the pet dogs inside the vehicle.

"This case absolutely disgusts me as there was no need for these two dogs to suffer and die at the hands of someone they trusted to take care of them!! I want to personally thank the gentleman who found 'Baby' and 'Lucky' for notifying law enforcement after he found the two dogs," Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said in a Facebook post Wednesday.

Blake, who was already on probation, was held at the Brevard County Jail on a $4,000 bail bond.