LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. — A Lehigh Acres man is charged with felony animal cruelty after suspicious Facebook messages led to the discovery of a dead dog at his residence.
According to the Lee County Sheriff's Office, messages posted by 31-year-old Anthony Knight were reported by a concerned citizen early Wednesday morning.
A video posted by Knight to Facebook showed the apparently deceased dog in a cage. Knight can be heard in the video saying, "Came home to another dead dog."
A second Facebook post from Knight read "Came home to 2 dead dogs within a year. And it was actually my fault this time."
LCSO's Animal Cruelty Task Force reviewed the messages and immediately began investigating.
Investigation brought detectives to a home on Meadow Road in Lehigh Acres, where detectives made contact with Knight. When questioned, Knight confirmed that he had written the Facebook posts and then showed detectives where he buried his dog, named Kalea.
Detectives later found that Kalea had been left in a cage inside the garage of the home with no ventilation and no water. She died with her head in an empty water bowl.
Knight, a convicted felon, was on probation at the time of his arrest.
LCSO's Animal Cruelty Task Force is reminding everyone that heat can be deadly to your animals.
