DANIA BEACH, Fla. – After three years of repeated phone calls to authorities, reporting animal abuse and cruelty, a Dania Beach resident discovered her biggest fear: the dog she felt was neglected and mistreated was found dead.
A strong stench wafted through a Dania Beach neighborhood, and worried it was human remains, concerned residents began searching. What they found was heartbreaking.
Animal rescuer Rebecca Landerman described the scene: “We saw a very large decaying body, covered in maggots. He was chained on a very short chain to a lawnmower.”
She added, “Unfortunately, it just seemed like we were two days too late. It was terrible -- one of the worst things I have ever seen.”
Next-door neighbor Bettina Trabulsi claims she has been calling authorities, reporting cruelty and begging for help for nearly three years.
“This is a boy that I have watched since he was a foot long, a puppy, and he was so adorable. He had a beautiful face, he was so sweet,” she said. “This boy has never been talked to, trained, taught, walked, cared for, loved, nothing!”
She watched as the grey pit bull appeared to live outside the home among trash and debris. She would hear him bark and cry, saw him tethered on short ropes in the heat without shelter, and often without food or even water.
“Oh my God, you have no idea, this broke me,” Trabulsi said. “When we found him, I was broken. I cried for days.”
Why did this innocent dog named Keys fall through the cracks?
Broward County Animal Care visited on May 15, 2023, after a caller warned that the owner was gone and the dog was not being cared for.
The field officer saw no shelter for Keys, so a plastic dog house was provided and the call was closed.
On Jan. 10, 2024, BCAC returned after a caller expressed concern about the dog’s living conditions.
The field officer could not find proper shelter, yet the report stated no violation and no further action was taken at that time.
“Code ordinances of Broward County: clean, sanitary, safe and humane conditions,” BCAC Director Doug Brightwell said. “None of that was clean, sanitary, or safe. And I regret that the outcome of this situation was what it was.”
On May 25, more than two years after the first recorded call, it was revealed that Bettina’s anonymous calls were never even registered.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office arrest report stated that the dog was left for prolonged periods with no food, no water, no shelter, and was tethered to a lawnmower with only three feet to move around.
“It’s horrific and we sympathize greatly. We wish that things like that do not happen to any animal,” Brightwell said. “Unfortunately, on the calls we went on, there was nothing that would justify us legally removing the dog.”
Anthony Louis, 58, was arrested a month later for animal cruelty.
He did not deny the things Trabulsi witnessed and told authorities about.
BSO deputies said he admitted to tying the dog to the lawnmower and then driving to Jacksonville, leaving Keys to die.
Yet, Trabulsi is still asking what more she could have done to save the dog that did not deserve his cruel and painful death full of suffering.
“It’s the cruelest ‘I told you so,’” she said.
If you see animal abuse or cruelty, call the authorities.
However, if you call 311 to report a concern or 911 to report a crime, you must give your name, phone number, and address.
Otherwise, Broward County Animal Care will never even receive the information. Anonymous calls mean nothing when it comes to saving an animal’s life.
As for Louis, he does not have a hearing scheduled yet, so the court system will be monitored to see what happens next.
