Missing Dog Found Dead On Roadside With Its Mouth Taped Shut In Florida

A missing dog was found dead on the roadside in North Fort Myers, Florida, on Monday (June 15).

Speaking to Wink News, Tammie Read said she was searching for a missing 17-year-old dog when she came across the canine on the side of the road along Northeast 24th Avenue near Garden Boulevard on Monday. The canine’s mouth was taped shut.

“It clearly was a case of animal cruelty. As I was coming around the bend there coming back down 24th, I saw a buzzard, two of them about 20 feet off the side of the road,” she said, adding that she then pulled over to take a look at what was happening.

“And when I did, oh, my God, when I did, I just couldn’t imagine someone doing what they did to that dog. The snout was wrapped. It was just horrible,” she told the channel, adding, “What would possess you to find some animal and say, ‘Well, I think I’m going to duct tape its mouth shut'?”

The woman immediately alerted the animal control and the police. She hopes the culprits are soon taken into custody.

“Clearly, the dog suffered,” Read said, adding, “I hope they find them. Are you kidding me? I mean it could be your animal or my animal next. If they could do that to an animal, they could do it to a child. They could do it to anybody.”

No arrests were made as of Monday night and it was not clear if the dog belonged to Read.

The incident comes less than a month after a dog was found with an arrow shot through the skull in Hilliard, Florida. Officials responded to the area and rushed the Labrador mix to an emergency veterinary service. The canine underwent emergency surgery and the arrow was removed. After receiving an anonymous tip, the investigators arrived at 37-year-old Carey Marie Wilson’s home. After she confessed to shooting the dog with a crossbow, she was arrested for felony animal cruelty.

In a Facebook post, the Nassau County Animal Services said the dog “that was shot in the head with a 16” crossbow arrow,” is already recuperating.