A dog in Putnam County, Florida, had to be put down after being dragged behind a moving car. According to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, the owner had tied the dog to her vehicle and then drove off, apparently forgetting it was still attached. A good Samaritan flagged her down to warn her.

Even then, the dog did not get help from its owner. The bystander said the woman explained she could not take the dog to a veterinarian because she had to go pick up her children. So the stranger took the badly hurt dog to a vet. The injuries were too severe: deep open wounds and serious damage to its paws and shoulder. The vet recommended euthanasia as the most humane choice.

The 27-year-old Pomona Park woman now faces an animal cruelty charge. Sheriff H.D. “Gator” DeLoach called leaving the animal to suffer “reprehensible,” according to First Coast News.

A charge is only the first step. Animal cruelty cases are sometimes reduced or dropped before they ever reach a courtroom. The State Attorney’s Office for Florida’s Seventh Judicial Circuit, which handles cases in Putnam County, can pursue this charge in full and ask the court to bar the defendant from owning or caring for animals as part of any sentence.

No animal should be left suffering while a stranger steps in to do what its owner would not. Full accountability, paired with a ban on future ownership, sends a clear message across Putnam County that cruelty and neglect carry real consequences.

Sign the petition to urge the State Attorney to prosecute this case in full and keep animals out of this owner’s care, before another animal pays the price.