FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Fort Lauderdale man was arrested Thursday after authorities said he dropped off a severely emaciated dog to be cremated at a Wilton Manors veterinary clinic.
Fort Lauderdale police said hospital staff at Arber Pet Hospital, located at 1220 NW 26th St., notified Wilton Manors police after removing the dog, Spike, from a taped-up box. Authorities said the dog showed signs of prolonged neglect.
A veterinarian who examined Spike found “matted hair throughout his body, consistent with not receiving proper grooming for months,” according to an arrest report.
The dog’s teeth were diseased, with roots exposed, and part of the tissue on its tail was “necrotic,” meaning the cells had died due to disease, injury, or lack of blood supply, the report states.
Police said Spike’s hip bones and ribs were visible, and he was “considered to be emaciated.” The veterinarian determined the dog had suffered “unnecessary pain and suffering for months prior to his death.”
Authorities said Ronnie Tyrone Bulger, 57, was taken into custody on a charge of conservation of animals — torture causing pain that leads to serious injury or death.
He was held at the Broward Main Jail on $15,000 bond Friday afternoon and was ordered not to possess any animals.
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