The boyfriend of a woman who was viciously mauled to death by her neighbor’s pit bulls has been charged with animal cruelty after his own three dogs were found dead in his trailer, according to police.
Donnell Smith, who saw his long-time partner Jodi Cowan, 50, being ripped to pieces last month, was arrested in Brevard County, Florida after he locked the dogs in the trailer for days without food, water or ventilation, WKMG-TV reported.
“Folks, it doesn’t get any sadder than this,” Brevard Sheriff Wayne Ivey said in a video statement Monday.
“Look at all the lives that have been lost, all the lives that have been impacted by this. It simply comes down to people not taking care of the pets they’re responsible for,” he added.
The dead dogs were discovered after police received a report on June 11 of a foul stench coming from the trailer. Police spoke with Smith, who eventually admitted that the dogs he had shared with Cowan had been in there without any food or water since June 2 or 3.
The Sheriff’s Office shared disturbing images of the decomposing pets.
Smith was taken into custody and is facing animal cruelty and other related charges. He is being held on a $15,000 bond.
Cowan was attacked by her neighbors’ bloodthirsty pit bulls on May 19 while she was out walking her smaller dog, surveillance footage shows.
Smith returned to their home that afternoon and heard screaming in the distance and saw their neighbors’ two dogs dragging Cowan down the road.
When he got to her, he found Cowan in a pool of blood covered in dog bites, Smith told local news outlets at the time. He said the pair of pit bulls came back and tried to take her away again.
“I pulled my knife out, you know, just swinging it with one hand and holding the blood with the other, trying to stop her from bleeding,” a distraught Smith said.
“It was brutal. Seeing the same woman I’ve loved for the last 25-30 years just ripped apart by two animals was just … I’ll never get that image out of my mind.”
He called 911 and Cowan was rushed to a hospital where she died from her injuries.
The pit bulls’ owner, Linda Cutler, 29, was arrested and charged with manslaughter. Her two pit bulls will be euthanized,
She faked having a heart attack when police hauled her away, according to the sheriff.