Dog in video is safe; owner being cooperative

PALM COAST, Fla. - Jan. 13, 2017 - PRLog -- A Facebook video (https://www.facebook.com/brenna.cronin/videos/1572931692734208/) posted Jan. 11 has gone viral of a dog riding on the back of a trailer traveling south on Interstate 95 in Flagler County, Florida. The 10 second video shows the dog chained to the top of a box in a trailer being towed by a SUV. The dog's owner responded to the Facebook post, even leaving their phone number, and contacted Flagler Animal Services the next day.

Flagler Animal Services (https://www.facebook.com/Flagleranimalservices/?fref=ts) is the lead agency investigating the case along with assistance from the Flagler County Sheriff's office (http://www.flaglersheriff.com/) and St. John's County Animal Control (http://www.co.st-johns.fl.us/animalcontrol/). Officers from both agencies performed a wellness check yesterday afternoon and witnessed several dogs that were well cared for.

"The owner has many dogs living both inside and outside that were all well cared for," said Flagler Animal Services Officer Bryan Denker. "All the kennels were clean and there was nothing criminal or out of the ordinary." The owner did receive a ticket for failure to properly tether an animal in violation of a Flagler County ordinance.

The dog Zeus, a four-year-old Blue American Pitbull Terrier, is one of several hunting dogs the driver owns. The owner and dogs were traveling to go hog hunting when the video was taken.

"We want people to understand how important it is to have your pet properly contained when traveling," said Amy Carotenuto, Flagler Humane Society Executive Director. "Not having your pet contained is not only dangerous for them, it's unsafe for you, any passengers and other drivers on the road."

Flagler Animal Services did meet with county officials in the summer of 2016 in effort to strengthen existing laws and ordinances about transporting animals. As of now, the owner violated the county ordinance by only having the dog attached with a single tether. There is currently no state statute regarding the transportation of animals, but Florida Senate Bill 320: Dogs in Vehicles (http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2017/0320) was introduced on Jan. 10, 2017, by Sen. Greg Stuebe, R-Sarasota.

Flagler Animal Services (https://www.facebook.com/Flagleranimalservices/?fref=ts) provides animal control services for the cities of Bunnell and Flagler Beach as well as the unincorporated parts of Flagler County. Flagler Animal Services is part of and ran by the Flagler Humane Society.

Flagler Humane Society (http://www.flaglerhumanesociety.org/) is a 501 (c(3) not-for-profit organization founded in 1980 with the mission of sheltering and providing nourishment for lost, homeless and neglected animals and finding them life-long matches in forever homes. We coordinate regionally to be Flagler's community resource and advocate for all animals.