Target: Bruce Bartlett, State Attorney of the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Pinellas County, Florida
Goal: Prosecute to the fullest extent of the law the man charged with felony animal cruelty after allegedly kicking a seven-year-old Chihuahua mix named Sheba, picking her up by the neck, throwing her, and striking her with a chair until she died.
Sheba was a seven-year-old Chihuahua mix who made the mistake of wandering into a bedroom where she was not permitted. According to investigators, the man who lived there kicked her across the room, then picked her up by her neck and threw her toward the front doorway, then struck her forcibly with a chair across her neck and back, then picked her up by the neck again and dropped her outside, where she was found dead when deputies arrived. Deputies had been called to the property for a domestic disturbance and say they discovered Sheba’s body at the scene. The accused was arrested and charged with one count of felony cruelty to animals under Florida law.
Sheba had done nothing more than be a dog in her own home. The alleged violence inflicted on her was not a single act — it was a reported sequence of escalating brutality. Florida’s Dexter’s Law — which strengthened penalties for aggravated animal cruelty involving companion animals and created a statewide Animal Abuse Offender Database — provides the legal framework to ensure this alleged conduct is met with consequences commensurate to its reported severity.
The State Attorney’s Office must pursue the maximum available sentencing under Florida law, including the enhanced penalties available under Dexter’s Law and placement of the accused in Florida’s Animal Abuse Offender Database upon conviction. Demand full justice for Sheba.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Attorney Bartlett,
We are writing to urge your office to pursue the maximum penalties available under Florida law, including the enhanced provisions of Dexter’s Law, against the man charged with felony cruelty to animals following the alleged death of a seven-year-old Chihuahua mix named Sheba. According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, the accused kicked Sheba across a room, then threw her toward the front door after picking her up by the neck, struck her with a chair across the neck and back, and then dropped her outside — where deputies found her dead upon arriving to investigate a domestic disturbance. The accused allegedly committed these acts because the dog had entered a room she was not allowed in.
Florida’s Dexter’s Law, effective July 2025, applies a 1.25 sentencing multiplier to aggravated animal cruelty involving companion animals and triggers inclusion in the statewide Animal Abuse Offender Database — provisions that exist precisely for cases of this alleged nature.
We respectfully but firmly demand that your office pursue conviction and the maximum available sentencing, including all enhanced penalties under Dexter’s Law, and that the accused be placed in Florida’s Animal Abuse Offender Database upon conviction. Sheba was allegedly killed for walking into a room. She deserves the full force of justice.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Cuong Duy
