Someone chained a dog’s legs to a cinder block and left it in the water off Coconut Grove. A video shared on Facebook this week shows the medium-sized dog floating just below the surface near a sunken sailboat. A photo shows the dog after it was pulled out, still bound. Local reporting describes it as possibly one of the worst animal abuse cases Miami-Dade County has seen.

The Miami Police Department is now leading the investigation and says detectives are following up on leads to find the person responsible. Miami-Dade County Animal Services has visited the site, but it is still unknown where the dog came from or whether it had an owner.

However this dog died, tying an animal to a weight and sinking it in the bay is cruelty no community should accept. A case like this cannot be allowed to fade once the headlines move on.

The Miami Police Department should give this investigation every resource it needs and keep going until someone is held accountable. The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office should bring the strongest animal cruelty charges Florida law allows and ask the court to bar the person responsible from ever owning animals again. The City of Miami Commission and the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners should put up a public reward for information that leads to an arrest. Miami-Dade County Animal Services should share what it can about where this dog came from, so the full story comes to light.

Anyone with information can call the Miami Police Department at 305-579-6111.

Sign the petition to demand justice for this dog now, while the leads are still fresh.