Florida man sentenced after leaving his dog to die in a dumpster because he was ‘too busy’ to take his pet to the vet

An 80-year-old Florida man who left his injured dog in a dumpster has been sentenced to 20 days in prison for animal cruelty. Victor Manuel Carrion-Flores abandoned his 10-year-old Jack Russell terrier mix, which was suffering from severe head injuries, behind a business, and the dog later died from its injuries.

Carrion-Flores pleaded guilty on September 30 and admitted to leaving Max, his dog, in a dumpster behind a business but claimed he did not know how Max got injured. He also claimed that he was “too busy” to take his dog to the vet.

Max was later found on March 7 in the dumpster by an employee of the business who was taking the trash out and heard the dog’s whimpering and crying, according to WFTV. The employee immediately called 911, and deputies later arrived on the scene at 1076 Cypress Parkway, where they found Max and took him to a veterinarian.

Max’s injuries were too severe

An examination confirmed that the dog had suffered blunt force trauma, resulting in a severe skull fracture which caused Max a great deal of pain. Due to the amount of pain the animal was in, the vet decided that euthanasia would be the best course of action and Max was later put to sleep.

Investigators were able to use surveillance footage from the business to track Carrion-Flores. CCTV showed him taking Max out of the bed of a pickup truck by the hind legs and putting the dog into a box before carrying him to the dumpster, where he ultimately left him. 

The surveillance camera showed the license plate number of the 80-year-old’s truck, which helped police identify the suspect. Social media photos of the dog also contributed to finding the identity of the owner.

When questioned, Carrion-Flores said he had owned Max for 10 years, and that the dog frequently ran away from home. He denied causing Max’s injuries, however, and claimed that he did not know how the dog had sustained them. He also said that he was “too busy” with real estate work to take Max to the vet and that he “did not want to deal with it,” reports Osceola News-Gazette.

Carrion-Flores was arrested on March 8, and later pleaded guilty to a felony charge of aggravated animal cruelty and one misdemeanour charge of abandoning an animal to die. He was sentenced to 20 days in jail as well as 2 years’ probation. On top of that, Carrion-Flores was banned from owning animals, ordered to take an eight-hour animal abuse prevention class, and placed on the Florida Police Department’s animal cruelty registry.