Man accused of leaving 10 dogs in non-ventilated storage unit without food, water

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A South Florida man is accused of leaving 10 dogs in a non-ventilated storage unit without food or water, authorities said.

According to a news release from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, Cassius Ali Cooper, 34, of Fort Lauderdale, was arrested on Thursday. He is facing 10 counts of animal cruelty involving torment, animal cruelty resulting in deprivation and mutilation of animals.

According to the sheriff’s office, detectives responded to a call at TMT Properties, an outside storage facility in Pompano Beach, after receiving a call on June 3 from another tenant at the facility, WPLG-TV reported.

Detectives said they heard whimpering and barking coming from a unit, according to WFOR-TV. The sheriff’s office said that detectives discovered 10 dogs “in distress” inside the non-ventilated unit.

Detectives found the dogs in four cages, with a “foul odor” coming from within the unit. The first cage had two puppies and six were found in a second cage, the sheriff’s office said. An adult female was in the third cage and an adult male was in the fourth cage with a heavy metal chain around his neck.

There was no food in the cages and minimal water that was brown,” the sheriff’s office said.

It was unclear how long the dogs had been left in the unit.

According to an arrest report, “the smell emanating from them was gag-worthy,” WPLG reported.

The dogs were removed, and officials with the Broward County Animal Care and Adoption Center responded to the scene to pick up the animals to care for them, the sheriff’s office said in its news release.

Cooper was arrested on Thursday when he visited the animal clinic to retrieve the dogs, according to the sheriff’s office. He was booked into the Broward County Jail, WFOR reported.

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