Florida: Michelle Vanputten, 31, pleads not guilty to abandoning four dogs

FLORIDA -- A Brevard County woman was in jail Friday after four dogs were found wasting away and all but abandoned in what a prosecutor calls appalling conditions.

Michelle Vanputten, 31, of Rockledge, was arrested Thursday night after a three-month investigation.

“You’re charged with cruelty to animals, four counts of that,” Brevard County Judge David Silverman said at Vanputten’s arraignment.

“There were four dogs in (Vanputten’s) house in fairly appalling conditions,” said Prosecutor Gary Beatty of the Brevard-Seminole State Attorney’s Office.

The house is on Palmer Street in Rockledge. Police found the four dogs in different areas of the house in April. One was locked in a bedroom and two others were cooped up in a garage crammed with junk.

 

“The entire floor was covered in animal waste and the dogs had no access to food or water,” a police report said.

The report said one dog’s fur was falling out and it had several sores on its body. Police declined to release photos of the dogs.

A neighbor told WESH 2 News that Vanputten lived in the house with her boyfriend, but when he went to jail, the dogs were essentially abandoned for weeks, perhaps months, getting rare visits and little care.

Each of the four counts of animal cruelty lodged against Vanputten carries a maximum five-year prison sentence, Beatty said. “However,” he continued, “she has no prior criminal record, so under the sentencing guidelines, it’s highly unlikely that she’s going to score within a prison range.”

The dogs were taken to an animal shelter to recover.

Silverman ordered Vanputten held on $8,000 bail. The judge said if she satisfies that bail and is released, she is not allowed to possess any animal.

Vanputten pleaded not guilty.

Full Name: Michelle Vanputten
Alias: Michelle Van Putten
Gender: Female
Birthdate: 11/21/1984
Height: 5'02"
Weight: 120 lbs
Block: San Antonio Way
City: Rockledge, Florida 32955
Date of arrest: 08/11/2016
Arrest Age: 31
Arresting Agency: Brevard County Sheriff's Office
Total Bond: $8,000
Charges:

1. Animal Cruelty-Felony-Cause Cruel Death Pain & Suffering
2. Animal Cruelty-Felony-Cause Cruel Death Pain & Suffering
3. Animal Cruelty-Felony-Cause Cruel Death Pain & Suffering
4. Animal Cruelty-Felony-Cause Cruel Death Pain & Suffering 

(WESH - Aug 12, 2016)