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Owner loses custody of dog reportedly thrown from Blue Heron Bridge

Posted at 4:49 PM, Feb 22, 2017
and last updated 2019-03-26 06:42:56-04

Nine-year-old B.J. continues to make Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control his temporary home.

"At this point B.J. is doing good, he is recovering very well. We still have him on cage rest. He is getting up and going for walks. We are trying to keep him calm, not to overexert himself," Captain Dave Walesky said.

B.J. severely injured his right leg on January 18th.

An Animal Care and Control Officer and a deputy were told that dog appeared to be thrown 40 feet from the Blue Heron Boulevard bridge.

A teen girl was near the dog and bystanders assumed she was the owner.

Wednesday, the girl's father, who owns the dog, appeared in court.

Albert Miller did not have a lawyer, but defended himself before the judge. He told the judge his daughter did not have permission to take the dog for a walk. He did not explain what his daughter was doing when the dog left the bridge.

After two and a half hours of testimony, the judge said he will lose custody of the animal.

B.J. will soon be up for adoption.

"In the end, we want to be assured that B.J. is never going to face any situation like this ever again. And that he's going to be able to live out the rest of his days stress free,"Captain Walesky said.

Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control will also need to be reimbursed more than $1,400 for the medical costs of caring for B.J.

When asked about possible animal cruelty charges a spokesperson for the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office said the case is in the juvenile court system.