'Decaying' Puppy Leads To Man’s Arrest: Police

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A Thursday morning phone call to St. Petersburg Police about a “dead puppy” ended with an adult dog being seized and a 33-year-old man finding himself behind bars.

According to police, officers were called about the puppy just before noon on Sept. 14. When they arrived in the 800 block of 41st Street South, “they found the decaying remains of a puppy in a dog crate and an adult female pit bull, named ‘Girl,’ tethered with a chain in the backyard.” (For more hurricane news or local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from St. Pete Patch. Click here to find your local Florida Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

“Girl,” the agency reported in an email, was malnourished.

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Police department spokeswoman Yolanda Fernandez said the case is not related to Hurricane Irma. The adult dog had been chained so long, her neck was "malformed."

Police charged Marcus Aren Adams with felony animal cruelty. He was booked into the Pinellas County Jail following his arrest. B ond had not been set as of Thursday evening, jail records indicated.

Pinellas County Animal Services has taken custody of “Girl,” the police department said.

Booking photo courtesy of the St. Petersburg Police Department