COCOA, Fla. – A Cocoa woman who worked through Rover.com as a dogsitter was arrested after a dog in her care died of heatstroke.
The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office said Heather Chambers, 33, was arrested Oct. 14 for a felony charge of animal cruelty.
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Deputies said Chambers was taking care of two family dogs at her home while the family was out of town. Later in the day she had informed the family that one of the dogs, Rolo, had been found dead in her yard.
The family said they asked Chambers if Rolo had been left outside a long time, and she said no, according to an arrest affidavit. Rolo was not supposed to be left outside unattended, as he was brachycephalic, the affidavit shows.
Deputies said when the family came to pick up the body, they noted that his nails, fur and face were covered in dirt. They said that Rolo was not supposed to be left outside long enough to get so dirty, according to investigators.
A necropsy performed on the dog showed he died of heatstroke, according to the affidavit.
During an interview with deputies, Chambers admitted she had not seen Rolo for up to six hours leading to his death, and claimed that the only reason he was dirty was because she had been “tossing him back and forth on the ground in the yard, as she tried to raise a response from him,” according to the arrest report. She thought it was possible her children had left the sliding door to the yard open, and that was how Rolo had gotten out, deputies said.
Deputies said the family, however, later claimed that Chambers’ boyfriend contradicted her and said the dog had been outside for a while, a statement the boyfriend later denied making.
Chambers was arrested and booked in the Brevard County jail, where she was released a day later on a $2,000 bond.
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