Tabitha Spadola left dog to die in vacant Holiday home, deputies say

FLORIDA -- A woman who left a dog to die in a vacant Holiday home faces animal cruelty charges, Pasco deputies said.

Tabitha Spadola, 35, of Tarpon Springs, abandoned a 1-year-old pit bull inside a home at 1344 Wickham Lane with no food, water or electricity, according to an arrest affidavit from the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office.

She told her children and family that she took the dog to a no-kill shelter to prevent them from returning to the home, the affidavit said.

Her actions resulted in the “cruel death, excessive and repeated infliction of unnecessary pain and suffering,” according to the affidavit.

Phone interviews with Spadola’s family show that she was aware that the animal was left inside the home, which is now in foreclosure, deputies said.

(The Tampa Tribune - Apr 16, 2015)