Photo: pinellas county sheriff’s office
A woman in Florida has been arrested after she allegedly threw her ex-boyfriend’s dog off the balcony of his condo in Clearwater Beach, Fla., on Sunday. The pug named Bucky died on impact.
Shelley Nicole Vaughn, 46, faces felony charges of aggravated animal cruelty felony, criminal mischief and domestic battery, according to the Clearwater Police Department.
“Detectives arrest Clearwater woman for throwing a 3-year-old pug to its death off seventh-floor condominium balcony on Clearwater Beach,” the police departmenttweeted. “First, she tossed the cell phone and keys off the balcony belonging to the man she had been dating. She’s on her way to jail this afternoon.”
Her ex-boyfriend’s attorney, Katherine Neal ofCarey Leisure & Neal, tells PEOPLE, the incident occurred just before noon on Sunday when Vaughn visited her former partner’s seventh-floor residence.
She then allegedly began throwing Adeson’s belongings off the balcony before picking up Bucky and also throwing the dog from the building, according to Neal’s statement. The pug landed on asphalt in the parking lot and died on impact.
“Eric Adeson is absolutely devastated and heartbroken over Bucky’s horrific death,” the statement continues. “There has been so much turmoil in our society these past couple years, and it seems people are getting more and more comfortable inflicting pain and harm onto others.”
Neal adds, “The act that Eric Adeson says he witnessed Sunday crossed the line. We are better than this. It has to stop.”
“I never thought anybody could do that,” he told the outlet. “I never thought anybody would have that in them.”
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Adeson got Bucky as a puppy in 2019 to be a companion to his 13-year-old puggle, Sandy, who was undergoing cancer treatments at the time.
After the alleged incident, he said he immediately rushed downstairs to check on, hoping that the dog would have survived the fall.
“There is no justice. I mean, nothing’s going to bring Bucky back,” Adeson said.
According to Neal, Vaughn was arraigned Tuesday morning and her bail was set at $22,000. She was ordered to surrender all weapons and wear a continuous alcohol monitoring (CAM) device on her ankle around the clock.
It is currently unclear if Vaughn has obtained legal representation.
“We felt compelled to take a bold and strong stance on this issue,” Adeson’s attorney adds. “We want to send a message to Ms. Vaughn and the entire community that acts of cruelty against animals are utterly outrageous, indecent and completely unacceptable in our society.”
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go tothehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
