A Palatka woman who told Flagler County deputies she was a mobile groomer was jailed for keeping eight caged puppies in a hot Palm Coast garage while the temperature outside was 97 degrees, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said July 28.
Shafaira Johnson, 36, was arrested July 25 after a delivery driver saw the caged puppies inside the garage at 10 Roland Lane in Palm Coast and called police, an arrest report shows.
Johnson was charged with animal cruelty; confinement of animals without sufficient food or water; and resisting an officer without violence. She was transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where she was later released on a $1,500 bond.
Deputies: 8 puppies, mother, caged with no food, little water in hot Palm Coast garage
According to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office report, a deputy arrived on scene July 25 at 1:39 p.m. and saw eight puppies believed to be 4 1/2 weeks old in a top cage, and a 2-year-old female named Envy in a bottom cage.
The adult dog was lactating, according to the arrest affidavit.
The puppies were lying on top of each other and only had a bowl with a small amount of water, the report states.
Johnson refused to let the deputy enter the garage, saying the homeowner was not present. When the deputy checked the weather and realized it was 97 degrees, he requested that Johnson move the panting puppies and Envy into the house. But she refused, saying she had to wait for her ex-boyfriend, identified in the report as Damon Flagler, investigating deputies said.
Johnson also told deputies that Flagler’s mother owned the house, the report detailed.
At 1:40 p.m., Envy was panting heavily, so the deputy asked Johnson to give her water. Johnson refused, saying the dog had water earlier and that she would vomit if she drank too much, the report detailed.
At 1:44 p.m., Johnson again did not give the dog water and kept saying “not long” when asked when her ex-boyfriend would arrive, deputies said.
Johnson then told deputies the dogs had been in the garage since 11:30 p.m. July 24, the report noted.
Johnson finally gave the dogs water at 1:49 p.m., deputies said.
Report: Palatka woman refuses deputy’s order to keep door open
At 2 p.m. Johnson closed the garage door, telling deputies that her ex-boyfriend’s mother instructed her to do so. She placed the puppies in a cardboard box to move them indoors, but the deputy told her to leave them in the garage because an animal control officer was on his way, the report noted.
Johnson was directed to leave the dogs in the garage with adequate water, but she refused to open the garage door. She then came outside and stood by a truck blocking the deputy’s view into the garage, the arrest report said.
Flagler arrived at the scene shortly before 3 p.m. and surrendered the adult dog and puppies – nine in all – to an animal control officer, the report said.
Flagler County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Arthur Jake said July 29 that Envy and her puppies were taken to a local rescue in Palm Coast.
― Patricio G. Balona is a crime and public safety reporter covering Volusia County and occasionally Flagler County. His coverage areas include Daytona Beach, DeLand, Ormond Beach and beyond.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Puppies rescued from hot Palm Coast garage, Palatka woman jailed
Reporting by Patricio G. Balona, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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By Patricio G. Balona, Daytona Beach News-Journal | USA TODAY Network
