Hillsborough County is trying to raise money for a dog that was hit with a rubber club.
After a woman was arrested on May 1 for allegedly abusing a dog, the Hillsborough County Pet Resources Foundation is helping pay some of the dog’s nearly $3,000 medical bills.
Authorities say that the Town ‘N’ Country sheriff’s office got a report about someone hurting an animal on Halifax Drive.
HCSO said that when the officers arrived, video footage showed Elizabeth Jaimes, 24, hitting a 9-year-old Siberian husky on the head and body with a rubber club while carrying the dog on a leash.
Jaimes, her boyfriend, and his mother, who owned the dog, lived in the house. She said that she first noticed bruises on Maya, the dog, in August, which is when Jaimes moved in.
Maya’s owner put up a secret camera to watch what she thought was going on with the dog. The abuse was then caught on camera. HCSO said that Jaimes admitted to hitting the dog because it barked at her.
Maya was taken to the Veterinary Emergency Group, which revealed that he had suffered multiple blunt-force head and back injuries, including spine and hip fractures, and was blind in one eye.
After Jaimes was caught, Maya was reunited with her owner and is now getting better at home. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) and Hillsborough County Animal Control are also trying to make it illegal for Jaimes to own a pet in the future.
