Florida man’s home surgery kills dog
First, he tried super glue. And when that wasn’t enough to close a three-inch cut on the chest of a dog he was temporarily caring for, a Florida man rendered the dog unconscious with chloroform and stitched her up with dental floss, authorities say.
Broward County deputies took William Ralph Jones Jr., 55, of Oakland Park, into custody Wednesday and charged him with two counts of felony animal cruelty, Florida’s Sun Sentinel reported.
Jones’ impromptu surgery caused Zoe, a 2-year-old retriever mix, to suffer excessive and unnecessary pain, the sheriff’s office said.
Danielle Vecchio, Zoe’s owner, said she moved to a home that prohibited pets last year, leaving Zoe in the care of Jones, her friend’s father. “It’s horrible to think about what they did to her,” she said. “They called me only after she was dead.”
Zoe had repeatedly escaped from Jones’ yard, and on Jan. 12 suffered a cut of about 3 inches to her chest, the Sheriff’s Office said. Jones first tried to seal Zoe’s wound with super glue, but when it reopened the next day, he placed her on his coffee table and instructed his roommate to give the dog a muscle relaxant, the sheriff’s report states.
The dog, still conscious, wouldn’t calm down, so Jones got his roommate and his daughter to hold her down and held a solution over her muzzle that he said was chloroform before attempting to sew up the wound. After that, the dog never regained consciousness.
Jones posted $5,000 bond and was freed from jail yesterday.
Posted by jwoestendiek January 22nd, 2010 under Muttsblog.
Tags: animal cruelty, animals, caretaker, chloroform, coffee table, danielle vecchio, dental floss, do-it-yourself, dog, dogs, florida, home, injury, oakland park, pets, stitched, super glue, surgery, william ralph jones, zoe
Comments
Comment from dahlia
Time January 22, 2010 at 8:18 am
btw, another article says the owner had a boyfriend with a backyard. that’s where they buried the dog.
am like, hello why didnt she leave the pet there?! wierd
Comment from laura
Time January 22, 2010 at 9:02 am
There are so many places that allow pets…why move to a place where you’d have to give up your dog?
Comment from Eighteenpaws
Time January 22, 2010 at 6:31 pm
Many OMD readers regularly blast PETA and HSUS and similar orgs….but the one mantra those organizations steadfastly promote is that pet “ownership” is a lifelong commitment. I literally cannot imagine any circumstance, other than my death, in which I would ever relenquish my dogs.
Comment from stacey
Time January 22, 2010 at 10:48 pm
its her fault too… who gets a dog and lives somewhere you cant have a dog. She is a loser poor little puppy 
Comment from THE OWNER
Time January 25, 2010 at 5:58 pm
I left my dog with him because i LOST my home. SO get ur fact str8 b4 saying im a bad dog owner. I loved her very much so go screw urself. and i just recently started dating this guy so why would i bring her over there. think outside the box! what he did was wrong and he couldnt even call me and tell me she was hurt. wait why am i explaining myself to u. ur the loser!
Comment from John Carman
Time February 4, 2010 at 12:16 am
Danielle, I’m so sorry for your loss of Zoe, and truly sickened by the details of the cruel and inhumane treatment that Zoe was forced to endure under the horrific judgement of Jones. My heart goes out to you and your beautiful dog Zoe.
Comment from John Carman
Time February 4, 2010 at 12:29 am
Why did Jones never call Vecchio to inform her of the injury… Jone’s claim that he had no money for a vet is insane and I sure Vecchio would have done whatever she could insure proper treatment. And, the truly sad part of this story is that had the wound been left untreated Zoe would probably be alive.
Jones was grossly negligent, cruel and inhuman and took the life of a beautiful trusting creature who allowed him enough trust to perform acts that would lead to its death.
Something precious needs to be taken from Jones and 20 years in prison is a good start.
Comment from a reasonable economist
Time August 22, 2010 at 4:08 pm
20 years for killing a dog – that comes to a cost of over 1 million dollars in court costs and prison fees (with compounded interest). Not to sound cold – but I’m pretty pleased the citizens of Florida will be footing that bill – 1 million dollars for taking the life of a dog. Hmmmm… makes one wonder why our wonderful country is SO darned far in debt.
Comment from dahlia
Time January 22, 2010 at 8:13 am
sick!
but first i cant imagine how the owner left Zoe with someone else…he doesnt look like he loves dogs anyway!