LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. – A dog in Southwest Florida is recovering after deputies said it was the victim of horrendous animal cruelty.
Workers at a Family Dollar store in Lehigh Acres found the dog in a dumpster behind the store on Thursday.
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The dog was found stuffed in a black trash bag, with a rope around its neck.
The workers rushed the dog to an animal hospital and called the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
Detectives responded to the store and said they found surveillance video, which showed a man take a black bag from the trunk of a blue Hyundai SUV. He was then seen tossing the bag into the dumpster and driving away.
Detectives learned that the 16-year-old Shih Tzu named Zyla had been microchipped.
They say they used that information to track down Anthony Bellman, 55.
They say Bellman told family that he was taking Zyla to the Humane Society to be euthanized.
Bellman was charged with felony aggravated animal cruelty, and booked into the Lee County jail.
He bonded out of jail on Friday.