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4 Puppies Left ‘Shaking And Tormented’ After Woman Allegedly Stuffs Them Into Bag, Swings It Around Bar
“I didn’t do that, I didn’t do that. I promise,” the suspect, Teresa Gardner, cried to a judge after being charged with animal cruelty.
A Florida woman is accused of stuffing four young Chihuahua puppies and their mother into a backpack, then swinging it "around wildly" at a bar, according to police.
Teresa Gardner, 27, was arrested Sunday - the same day as the alleged incident - and charged with resisting arrest and misdemeanor animal cruelty.
After the 4-week-old puppies were taken out of the bag, they were “shaking and tormented,” a Broward's Sheriff's deputy wrote, according to the Miami Herald.
“The defendant’s actions tormented and deprived the animals of the necessary oxygen as she transported the animals in a cruel and inhumane manner,” the deputy wrote in the report.
The incident took place at Briny Irish Pub, a Pompano Beach bar where the suspect was spotted “roughly throwing the bag, containing the animals, onto the bar tables and benches,” the sheriff’s office stated, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
During a court hearing Monday, which was posted on the Sun Sentinel’s site, a judge ordered Gardner to stay away from all domestic pets. Gardner can be seen fixing her hair as she stood before the judge. She was given a $1,000 bond and the judge called her alleged actions “troubling.”
At that point, Gardner responded emotionally.
“I didn’t do that, I didn’t do that. I promise,” she cried.
As for the dogs, they are recovering but are reportedly still shaken up.
“Mom’s a little bit traumatized right now and scared,” Lisa Mendheim, spokeswoman for Broward County Animal Care and Adoption Center in Fort Lauderdale told the Sun Sentinel. “So far, so good with the puppies. They’re here under observation right now.”
[Photo: Broward County Sheriff’s Office]
