Discovery Of Malnourished ‘Stray' Prompts Arrest

SARASOTA, FL — A 4-year-old pit bull mix is on the mend at Sarasota County Animal Services while its owner faces criminal charges. Authorities say the malnourished dog was reported to them as a stray earlier this month and tracked by a microchip to its owner.

The sequence of events that led to Brittany Osborne’s Friday arrest began on July 7. According to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, animal services officers were contacted by a woman who reported finding a stray at a gas station on Tamiami Trail. When the officers arrived to pick up the dog, they scanned for a chip and were able to trace the creature to her 21-year-old owner, a media release stated.

Get the Sarasota Patch newsletter and alerts in your inbox.

“Due to her extreme emaciation, Adria was transported to a local veterinarian for care,” the sheriff’s office reported. The vet told authorities Adria was severely underweight, had overgrown nails and there was staining on her body “consistent with the animal being confined to a small space and forced to lay in urine or feces.”

When investigators looked into the matter more closely, they say they learned the woman who reported finding Adria knew Osborne. “When interviewed, Osborne admitted to asking the woman to call animal services to claim Adria was a stray dog so that she would not get in trouble,” the release said.

Osborne, the sheriff’s office said, also told investigators Adria escaped several weeks ago. While she was missing, Osborne got another dog and didn’t want Adria back, the media release said.

Osborne was charged with felony animal cruelty and confinement of animals without food or water on Friday. “She is also not allowed to have any contact with or ownership of any animals,” the sheriff’s office reported.

Osborne was booked into the Sarasota County Jail Friday. Her bond was set at $2,000.

Adria is in the custody of animal services. Authorities say she may be available for adoption in the future.

Keep up with what’s happening by following Sarasota Patch on Facebook.

Photos courtesy of the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office