Florida: Seffner man, Arthur Jewell Jr., accused of retaliating against chihuahua

FLORIDA -- A 5-year-old chihuahua named Dixie was rushed to emergency surgery on Tuesday and the 44-year-old man accused of assaulting the dog was arrested by Hillsborough sheriff's deputies.

The dog's owner approached deputies just before 10 a.m. in the area of Old Hillsborough Road and Royal Oak Lane in Seffner, according to a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office report, carrying his severely injured chihuahua.

Deputies "observed the dog to have severe injuries to its left eye and appeared to be in immense pain," the report said.

They identified Arthur Jewell Jr. as a suspect. As deputies interviewed him, they said Jewell became combative and tried to run, the report said. He was then arrested on charges of aggravated animal cruelty and resisting arrest without violence.

The dog's owner got into an argument with Jewell and Jewell retaliated by hurting the owner's dog, according to sheriff's spokeswoman Cristal Bermudez Nunez,.

 

Hillsborough County Animal Services took in Dixie for surgery, the report said. There was no update available on the dog's condition.

Jewell, of 5429 Mobile Drive, was being held in the county jail late Tuesday in lieu of $2,500 bail.

(Tampa Bay Times - June 23, 2015)