KEY WEST, Fla. — Authorities arrested a Florida Keys woman on Monday after they said state wildlife officers found three dogs left in “deplorable conditions” on her boat.
Tanya Lynn Cramlett, 51, now faces three felony and three misdemeanor animal cruelty charges.
According to an incident report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, an officer responded to Cramlett’s boat in the Garrison Bight Mooring Field off Key West on Jan. 2 after receiving “multiple reports” about unattended dogs on the 41-foot cabin cruiser.
In the report, FWC Officer Riana Sargent wrote that she saw “two small dogs running around the deck and barking at the patrol vessel” with a “third elderly dog” in plain view inside the cabin.
“All three dogs exhibited visible signs of neglect, including dirty, matted coats consistent with a lack of regular grooming or care,“ Sargent wrote. ”The deck of the vessel was covered in fecal matter and strewn with trash and debris, creating an unsanitary living environment."
Sargent wrote that she then went back to get the dogs some water.
“I observed (that) all three dogs immediately began drinking and consumed a significant quantity, despite previously appearing hesitant of my proximity to the vessel,” she wrote.
Officials said the next day, Sargent, an animal control officer and an employee with the Florida Keys SPCA went back to board and inspect the vessel.
Authorities said the three found no food or water aboard and the animal control officer seized the three dogs, which were all infested with fleas. One of the dogs “appeared to be partially blind,” Sargent wrote.
Several photos of the dogs were included in the report.
“All three dogs emitted a strong odor of urine, overgrown nails, and coats indicative of extended neglect in routine grooming and maintenance,” the report states.
According to the report, all dogs were later found by veterinarians to be suffering from signs of “prolonged neglect,” including dehydration, urinary tract infections and flea infestations, among other medical conditions.
Sargent wrote that she was “overwhelmed” by the stench of urine and feces throughout the boat and a “substantial accumulation of fecal matter was observed throughout the vessel.”
“Both the deck and interior cabin areas were heavily cluttered with accumulated trash and miscellaneous debris. Bags of trash were piled in the main cabin. Sleeping surfaces in the cabin were saturated with a pronounced urine odor and displayed visible staining and fecal matter,” she wrote. “Empty bowls left out for the dogs were dirty, containing old food residue and cockroach droppings. I observed multiple cockroaches crawling around old and contaminated food.”
Sargent wrote that any of the dogs could have fallen through an open hatch on the cabin floor and gotten trapped and conditions on the boat were such that one of the dogs could have “fallen into the water at any point.”
Authorities said Cramlett denied leaving the dogs for more than 24 hours and said “she was unable to get to the vessel after having surgery, so she had neighbors and family watching the dogs,” claiming “that her son was supposed to help with the dogs but had left the state and not bothered to tell her.”
Sargent wrote that Cramlett blamed a renter for the unsanitary conditions aboard the boat “and provided excuses for the lack of care provided to the dogs,” instead focusing “on disputing who was responsible rather than addressing the dogs’ condition(s).”
Despite the serious allegations of neglect, Cramlett flashed a grin in her mugshot following her arrest at the Monroe County Jail in Key West on Monday. Records indicated that she was given a bond of $33,000.
She was no longer listed in Monroe County Sheriff’s Office jail records as of Tuesday afternoon. Her arraignment date was listed as “unknown.”
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