Pit bull dies after being dragged behind Florida man’s car
(Arlow Lorenzo Phillips, booking photo, Image credit: PCSO)
Arlow Lorenzo Phillips, a 65-year-old man from New Port Richey, Florida, was charged with animal cruelty this week after “several witnesses saw him speeding down a Florida highway, dragging a pit bull behind the vehicle,” according to sheriff’s deputies in Pasco County. One of those witnesses told police that the dog was “howling” as it was being dragged down the highway.
Newsweek reported that a deputy from Pasco County said that on that same night, he had seen Phillips while he was driving and then he came across “a horrific scene” when he encountered the animal lying in a pool of blood at the intersection of Manor Drive and U.S. Highway 19 in Pasco County, Florida.
The dog’s leash had been tethered to the back passenger door with the window closed, according to the sheriff’s office. The deputy said he observed that the dog had road rash on one side of his body and that his paws were “severely” injured.
FOX 13 News in Tampa shared reports from witnesses who said that they saw Phillips “driving erratically“ in his black 2008 Kia at about 9 p.m. on August 10, and that he was dragging the pit bull behind his vehicle at that time.
None of the witnesses could say for certain how far the dog had been dragged behind Philps, or for how long. The dog perished at some point either while still being dragged , or sometime later at a local veterinarian’s office, according to a report from MSN.
Deputies with the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) conducted a traffic stop while following Phillips home that evening after seeing him on the road driving his Kia. During the stop, deputies discovered that Phillips was driving without a license, since it had been revoked back in 2007. “Phillips has seven convictions for driving while license suspended or revoked (DWLSR) in addition to other prior brushes with law enforcement, PCSO told Fox 13.”
Phillips told the deputies that he tied his dog to the rear of the car because the car’s air conditioning wasn’t working, and he didn’t want the animal to suffer from the heat inside the vehicle – but then drove down the highway after forgetting the dog was tied up to the car.
He said that he took the dog to an emergency veterinarian, but the dog was unable to be saved, according to PCSO. When investigators contacted the veterinarian, they said that Phillips told them that the pit bull was hit by a car. ~ Newsweek
Phillips was arrested on Monday night and charged with Cruelty to Animals and Driving While License Suspended or Revoked (DWLSR).
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram
