A social media storm is brewing in Delray Beach as community members post videos and pictures of a dog they believe is being starved and neglected.
They are calling on Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control to seize the dog and get it medical attention. ACC said the family that owns the dog has no prior history of abuse or issues and has been given a timeline to make corrections.
Community members say they are jumping fences near Southwest Fourth Avenue to get to the dog to feed it.
"I started crying because I cannot see an animal tortured like this," said a Delray woman who wished not to be identified for fear of retaliation.
She discovered the dog, she says at first in a crate in the backyard. Later, she said the dog was let out and tethered in the yard. In videos and pictures posted on social media, you can see the dog's ribs and bones and an unknown scar all the way down it's back.
"Skin and bones, filthy, dirty, horrible conditions," she said.
An ACC officer went out to the home and cited the dog's owner for having an unsterilized dog, with no proof of rabies shots or a Palm Beach County license tag. ACC's Captain David Walesky said the owner has been given a timeline to make corrections.
"ACC is saying they're following protocol and the protocol takes time," said the concerned woman. "This dog is dehydrated, this dog probably has heartworms and this dog needs to get to a vet ASAP."
Walesky said the officer who responded used a body conditioning scale to evaluate the dog and said it looked worse in pictures than it did in person. WPTV tried to reach the owner at the home, but the door was closed in our face.
"We offered to take the dog to the vet and with these words, exactly these words, that's what the owner said, 'the dog is fine. The dog will be alright,'" said the woman.
Delray community members who have attempted to look after the dog by feeding it through a fence said they recently discovered the dog is no longer in the backyard and are not sure where it has been moved to.
Community members want to know why the dog has been allowed to remain at the home when a county ordinance states that an animal should be kept in clean, sanitary and humane conditions as well as be fed appropriate quantities of food daily.
