Terry Jerome Capers, 28, of Jay is facing multiple counts of animal cruelty in which a malnourished dog lost her leg to infection.
According to his arrest report from the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office, the incident began on June 12 in which the law enforcement agency received a welfare call in regards to a tan female pit-bull. The dog was tied to a tree in Jay off Highway 182 without food or water.
The responding deputy reported the extremely thin dog had sores on her body and that her right rear foot was missing with bone exposed with obvious signs of infection. As another deputy arrived on scene, the responding deputy took the pit-bull to a veterinary clinic in Navarre. At the time the dog arrived, vet specialists weighed in the dog at 27 pounds.
The clinic's staff immediately scheduled a surgery on June 15, the veterinary specialist told the deputy, the dog's infected leg was unable to be saved and prescribed the dog pain medication and antibiotics. The following Monday the veterinary specialist attempted to do the surgery again only to have the dog ‘crash' on the operating table due to the pit-bull being so weak. Through blood work, the veterinarian found out the dog was anemic.
According to the arrest report, once the dog gained more weight, the veterinarian performed the surgery on June 23.
Police made contact with Capers on June 26, at his residence in Pace. Capers told the investigating deputy a friend had apparently dropped off the dog in his care and he was unable to care for it. Capers said he tried to reach the friend about the dog but was unsuccessful.
When asked why he didn't drop the dog at a shelter or contact authorities on the matter, the deputy said Capers had no response. The deputy told Capers a witness stated the dog had been on the property for at least six months.
Capers was charged with a one count of torment, deprive, mutilate or kill an animal, one count of cause cruelty, death pain and suffering of an animal and one count of unlawful confinement or abandonment of an animal.
According to the Santa Rosa County Jail website, Capers was released on a $7,000 bond on July 23.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Jay man faces animal cruelty charges