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Tampa Woman Calls 911 To Catch Dog, Faces Cruelty Charge

Photo from Hillsborough County Animal Services

Whitney the Rottweiler mix has such a severe neck wound that Animal Services officers put a leash around her back.

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TBO.com

Published: June 26, 2008

Updated: 06/26/2008 09:43 am

TAMPA – Police charged a woman with animal cruelty after finding an emaciated dog with a festering wound in her back yard.

Christina Marie Humphrey, 33, of 508 E. Virginia Ave., was arrested at 10:08 p.m. Wednesday. She had called 911 because the dog, a female Rottweiler mix, had gotten free of its chain and was running loose in the yard.

Humphrey was charged with felony cruelty to animals and improper confinement of an animal.

She told police that the dog, named Whitney, belongs to her boyfriend, who left it at her house a month ago, an arrest affidavit states. The officer who went to Humphrey's house noted that the dog's chain was short and that the animal had no visible shelter other than a "sparse tree."

He also saw a gaping wound by the dog's collar, writing in the affidavit that "the wound circled the dog's neck and oozed with pus."

The officer "smelled the distinct odor of decaying flesh and Whitney had flies buzzing around her neck. She was extremely thin with hip and rib bones protruding."

Humphrey told the officer she stayed out of the back yard because of fleas and that her 8-year-old son used a broom handle to feed the dog leftovers, the affidavit states. A witness told the officer he fed the dog from time to time.

Hillsborough County Animal Services said the dog needed emergency veterinary care because of "unnecessary pain and suffering," according to the affidavit.

The dog is being treated at an emergency care hospital but should be transferred to animal services' care today, animal services spokeswoman Marti Ryan said. If Whitney's owner doesn't sign her over to the agency's care, animal services will petition for custody.

At that point, barring further severe medical or behavioral issues, the dog could be put up for adoption, Ryan said.

Humphrey was still in Orient Road Jail this morning. Her bail was set at $2,500.

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