Anthony Bellman, Lehigh Acres, Florida man arrested for dumping Shih Tzu in garbage bag behind Family Dollar store after telling family members he was going to euthanize pet dog.
A Florida man has caused disconcert after surveillance video caught him tossing a black garbage bag into a dumpster behind a discount store. Inside the garbage bag was the man’s still breathing 16 year old Shih Tzu dog which he had momentarily strangled and left to die.
On Thursday, employees of a Family Dollar store in Lehigh Acres found the 16-year-old Shih Tzu, known as Xyla, moving inside a trash bag with a rope around her neck, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement posted to Facebook.
The workers rushed the dog to Blue Pearl Pet Hospital while members of the sheriff’s office’s animal cruelty task force and other detectives responded to the scene.
Bellman found at his home wearing the same clothes as man seen in surveillance video
Veterinary staff were able to link Lehigh Acres man, Anthony Bellman, 55, as the dog’s owner after scanning Xyla’s microchip, which showed the canine’s original owners being dead, and Bellman adopting Xyla after their passing.
During their investigations, police located surveillance footage which appeared to show a man arriving at the dumpster in his car. The individual, later revealed to be Bellman is then seen removing a bundled up trash bag from his trunk and then tossing it into the dumpster several feet away, before returning to his vehicle and leaving the scene.
‘Key details led detectives to a nearby residence with the same vehicle matching that driven by the suspect in the surveillance footage,’ the sheriff’s office wrote in a Facebook post.
During their contact with who they believed to the canine’s dog owner, police discovered upon arriving at the man’s house, Bellman wearing the same clothes as the individual seen in the video hoisting the Shih Tzu into the dumpster.
During questioning, Bellman told police he had tried to strangle the dog and snap her neck with a belt instead of taking her to be euthanized. Believing the animal was dead, Bellman admitting driving to a dumpster near his home to ‘throw away’ the Shih Tzu.
‘No living thing deserves to be discarded like common trash’
Authorities said Bellman had allegedly told his family he was going to take the dog to be euthanized, according to WBBH-TV and the Fort Myers News-Press. Bellman later told detectives euthanasia would have been ‘too sad.’
Bellman was charged with one count of aggravated animal cruelty, authorities said. It’s unclear if he has entered a plea or retained an attorney to speak on his behalf.
In the statement, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno called Bellman ‘a selfish and cruel individual, who clearly has no regard for animals.’
‘We are one team that comes together to be a voice for the innocent, such as Xyla,’ the sheriff said. ‘We will never stop holding individuals accountable for these heinous actions here in this county.’
Adding, ‘no living thing deserves to be discarded like common trash.’
Aggravated animal cruelty is a third-degree felony in Florida, punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up $10,000.
Bellman posted a $50,000 surety bond Friday. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for January 16.
Meanwhile, the dog is recovering at Lee County Domestic Animal Services, where it will remain until it is adopted.
