The Indian River County Sheriff's Office calls it one of the worst animal cruelty cases they've seen. 49 year-old Terri Redstone was arrested and charged with two counts of felony animal abuse.
Sgt. Christian Mathisen was called out to Redstone's 6th Avenue home Saturday for a welfare check.
“I had the windows down and I could actually smell it," said Sgt. Mathisen Monday.
The overpowering odor was one thing. The discovery of a badly decomposed rottweiler inside, quite another.
“It was disgusting to the point where I actually left," said Sgt. Mathisen.
In an interview conducted outside Redstone's home, and released by the Sheriff's Office, Redstone said the one year-old rottweiler doesn't stay in a crate all of the time, but a good majority of the time.
Redstone told investigators she only knew that one of her two dogs was dead because deputies told her. She did say she had made a “bad judgement call”.
“Had not fed her for a week or two weeks almost," Redstone said on the interview. "You would estimate last time she was fed was about two weeks ago?” Redstone was asked. She nodded her head.
Several bags of food were outside the home. Deputies say although the home was filled with trash and feces, there was more food inside.
Investigators say based on the level of decomposition, the dog had been dead 3 to 4 weeks.
Neighbor Vickie Catalona said she had approached Redstone and offered to help her with the dogs.
“I cried. Nobody on the face of this earth should treat an animal that way," said Catalona.
A second dog in the home, a whippet, was taken away by animal control.