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Tampa Pair Charged With Cruelty To Animals

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TBO.com

Published: December 1, 2008

Updated: 12/01/2008 04:59 pm

TAMPA - Two Tampa residents treated dogs so poorly that the animals looked skeletal, investigators say.

Hillsborough County deputies arrested 34-year-old Wilmer Fernandez and 32-year-old Aixa Rodriguez on Sunday afternoon.

About 11:30 a.m. Sunday, an investigator saw an emaciated dog in the backyard of 12315 Cambridge Ave., where Fernandez and Rodriguez live. The investigator ultimately saw five dogs at the property, including three outside with leads so short the animals couldn't get proper exercise, a criminal arrest affidavit states.

All five dogs have been seized by Hillsborough County Animal Services, which will petition for custody.

Casper, a 3-year-old boxer mix, is in the worst condition and is under emergency veterinary care, Animal Services spokeswoman Marti Ryan said. Casper's shelter was a broken banquet table. He could not walk and had to be carried to an Animal Services vehicle.

A 3-year-old female cocker spaniel named Princess and a 3-year-old pit bull named Oreo are thin but not as emaciated as Casper.

Fernandez and Rodriguez said they didn't have the money to properly care for the animals, the affidavit states. "They could not supply proof of any medical treatment or vaccines."

Fernandez and Rodriguez both were charged with two felony counts of animal cruelty, two misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty and three misdemeanor counts of confinement of animals without food or water.

Each had bail set at $6,500. They have been released from jail.

The owners have not signed over the dogs to Animal Services, Ryan said.

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