BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A man and woman were arrested after a dog was found nearly starved to death in Brevard County, according to the sheriff.
James Preston and Heather Ballentine were arrested Monday on charges of aggravated animal cruelty and unlawful confinement.
According to Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey, the two were given a dog named Tara to care for and added that she was in need of medication.
“You see some of the pictures — they’re disgusting what these people did with Tara,” Ivey said in a recorded social media video. “After they almost let Tara starve to death, then they gave it to their grandmother and said there’s something wrong with the dog, you can have it.”
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A family member called the sheriff’s office to report the dog’s health, according to the sheriff. Ivey said a vet described Tara’s health as a “one” on a scale of one to nine.
According to Ivey, the suspects said in an interview that Tara would eat and then immediately throw up, so Tara then went without food and was kept in a crate because she couldn’t control her bowels.
“Well, guess what? Of course Tara couldn’t control her bowels because Tara was starving to death and her body was shutting down while you two idiots are letting it happen and doing nothing to stop it," Ivey said in the video.