It happened at about 9:30 p.m. Sunday in the 600 block of East Palmetto Park Road when police said Eva Lea Klein, 60, wrapped speaker wire, similar to wire used for headphones, around the dog's neck and one hind leg before kicking the dog off a boat dock.
Police said the dog, which they were calling Jellybean, would've been killed, had it not been for the life-saving actions of nearby bystanders.
"It should be noted that Klein's method of tightly wrapping a wire around the dog's neck, tying it to one back leg, and then pushing it into the [Intracoastal] is a premeditated action that will surely cause death of the animal if it had not been rescued," an officer wrote in the report.
A man fishing at Silver Palm Park, Greg Bunch, 53, told police he noticed a woman standing at the dock with the dog and then saw the dog in the water.
The woman told him her dog, who she called Chappy, liked to swim from one side of the Intracoastal and back, but the fisherman said the dog looked like it was struggling, according to the report.
The fisherman questioned Klein about the dangers in the water, but Klein tried the change the conversation to dancing, the report said.
The fisherman lost track of the dog and walked away, he told police.
Shortly after, Klein walked away. Bunch told police he never saw her again, according to the report.
But as Bunch fished, he heard whimpering noises. He looked over to see the dog still in the water near a drawbridge. Bunch described the current as having enough strength to damage a boat and enough power to pull a person into the middle of the Intracoastal.
Bunch was helped by other people on the dock who jumped into a friend's boat and went out to the dog, who was struggling in the rough waters.
The current and tide damaged the boat, but the people managed to get the dog back to land, according to the report.
The fisherman called 911 as a woman, Eliene Pinheiro, 36, and her husband Atila Freitas, 35, helped the dog, who was gasping for air until Bunch used a fishing knife to cut the wire, police said.
Police tracked the microchip in the dog to Richard Ostrovski, who said his mother, Klein, had the dog.
After the fisherman identified Klein in a photo lineup as the woman who kicked the dog into the water, police arrested Klein.
A Boca Raton police spokesman said there were no mental health issues being investigated for Klein. It was unknown if alcohol or drugs played a role in the crime, the report said.
The dog was taken to the police department kennel and was later taken by Animal Care & Control.
Police tweeted photos Tuesday, one showing the dog resting and another of a dispatcher holding the dog.
Klein was booked into Palm Beach County Jail and released after posting $3,000 bond.
(Sun-Sentinel - April 13, 2016)
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