Target: Jack Campbell, State Attorney, 2nd Judicial Circuit, Florida
Goal: Impose the toughest allowable sentence and a lifelong animal-ownership ban on the man who reportedly left his chained, emaciated dog to suffer and die.
Buck, a nine-year-old dog, was reportedly discovered chained to a post with every bone visible beneath his skin. Deputies and animal-control officers say fleas crawled over his body, untreated bites dotted him with blood, and his food and water bowls sat empty and swarming with ants. When authorities presented owner David Shane Byrd with a notice to take Buck to a veterinarian, he allegedly refused, declaring, “I’m not taking the dog to the vet; that’s not going to happen.”
Despite emergency intervention, Buck’s health—ravaged by heartworms, extreme starvation, and neglected disease—purportedly deteriorated until he died three weeks later. A necropsy reportedly revealed bone-marrow levels at less than one percent, far below the healthy range. Investigators assert that prolonged deprivation of food, water, and medical care directly led to the dog’s agonizing decline.
Buck’s suffering must not be dismissed as just another cruelty case. Sign below to demand a forceful prosecution and the harshest sentence to send a clear warning that willful neglect and deliberate denial of veterinary care will be met with zero tolerance. Nothing less safeguards other animals from a similar fate.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear State Attorney Campbell,
Investigators report that a dog named Buck was discovered in Wakulla County chained outside, so skeletal that his entire frame showed through the skin, his body crawling with fleas and dotted with bloody bite wounds. Deputies state that when ordered to seek veterinary treatment, the owner allegedly refused outright. Within weeks, Buck succumbed to complications from severe emaciation, heartworms, and long-term disease, according to the necropsy.
Such alleged indifference to extreme suffering reflects an utter disregard for Florida’s animal-protection statutes. Allowing a companion animal to waste away, unfed, untreated, and exposed to parasites is not an act of ignorance—it is a conscious decision to ignore pain and basic life needs.
We respectfully urge your office to pursue the highest penalty permissible for felony animal cruelty, require full restitution for Buck’s medical costs, and seek a permanent prohibition on the defendant owning or caring for animals. A strong sentence will affirm that deliberate neglect resulting in death will never be tolerated in the 2nd Judicial Circuit.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Wonderlane
