PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A Palm Beach County woman is under arrest for animal cruelty, accused of abandoning her dog when she got evicted from her apartment.
According to an arrest report, a Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control officer responded to the 900 block of W. Tiffany Dr. in suburban West Palm Beach on Jan. 8 after maintenance workers found a pit bull named Cash inside an empty, flooded apartment.
Those workers discovered the dog after responding to a water leak at the home. They said there were feces throughout the apartment, and Cash was trying to eat a shoe.
An animal control officer said Cash was emaciated, lethargic, and had a hard time moving around.
The arrest report stated Cash's animal identification number showed he was registered to 32-year-old Brittany Hansen.
According to her arrest report, Hansen had been evicted from the apartment and turned on the sinks inside the home before she left, which flooded the place.
Officers said they made contact with Hansen, who claimed she had "given the dog to a guy named John who lived in Lantana."
However, several neighbors said they had seen the pit bull recently and it hadn't looked healthy for a while, according to Hansen's arrest report.
ACC investigators said Cash had no body fat, had trouble eating, and also had internal and external parasites.
However, after treatment at Animal Care and Control, the dog thankfully gained 29 pounds.
Following months of investigation, Hansen was arrested on Aug. 29 on charges of animal cruelty and unlawful abandonment or confinement of an animal.
Hansen posted her $3,000 bond the same day she was arrested, and is now out of jail.