South Florida dog owner faces animal cruelty charges after 3 puppies rescued from freezing balcony
A Pembroke Pines man is in jail for animal cruelty after police discovered three dogs left outside in dangerously cold temperatures.
A neighbor called 911 after noticing three malnourished puppies shivering on a balcony in freezing weather.
While their former owner remains in a Broward County jail, the dogs are now being fostered through Pooches in Pines.
"When I saw their condition, it was just devastating and heart-wrenching—how skinny and emaciated they are," said Angela Goodwin, president of Pooches in Pines.
On Sunday night, Pembroke Pines police responded to an apartment at 1152 Southwest 122nd Avenue and found the three dogs confined to a four-by-five-foot crate.
The dogs included a two-year-old French bulldog and two pit bull mix puppies, both under a year old.
According to the arrest report, the responding officer noted that the bone structure of all three dogs was clearly visible, including their ribs, spine, and midsection.
At the time the call was made, the outside temperature was 40 degrees, with a "feels like" temperature of just 23 degrees.
Officers say 24-year-old Jaylen Holmes not only deprived the dogs of food and water but also left them in a crate filled with urine and feces.
"Two of them are anemic. One has a dangerously low red blood cell count and may need a transfusion if she doesn't improve—that's the Frenchie. And this little girl, they said if another 24 hours had passed, she wouldn't have made it," Goodwin said.
While the dogs are now safe with foster families, Holmes faces multiple charges, including confining an animal without sufficient food or water, keeping animals in an enclosure without exercise or air, and tormenting or depriving an animal.
He was granted bond for the charges related to the puppies but remains in custody due to a previous charge for which he was already out on bond.
"One is for domestic battery. Based on the new law violation, we request that supervision in that case be revoked," said a prosecutor in open court.
Holmes will go before another judge to determine whether the previous judge's order to keep him in custody will be upheld.
As a condition of his bond, Holmes is prohibited from owning animals.