Florida woman saves 2 dogs that were dragged, thrown in dumpster
By Gail Paschall-Brown
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BREVARD COUNTY, Florida (WESH) — Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey is grateful two suspects involved in an animal cruelty case were arrested.
The suspects are accused of dumping two dogs in a dumpster, and they are facing charges of animal cruelty and abandonment. One of the suspects had a prior history of animal cruelty.
Zoie Mirling, a mental health counselor and legal aide from Melbourne, was one of the rescuers who helped save the dogs. Mirling expressed shock and anger at the incident and wasted no time jumping into action. She rescued the dogs and provided them with food and water. She also contacted law enforcement to report the incident.
“My immediate response, ‘Oh, I’m going to bring these dogs home with me.’ I got to not act on emotions so much,” Mirling said. “There was a lot of anger and shock when it first happened, I was getting ready to leave the facility when our billing specialist Cindy was walking back in and she had told me what happened. We all basically jumped into action to save these poor dogs.”
Mirling also mentioned that the dogs were covered in fleas and extremely malnourished. She took them inside, gave them food and water, and then called law enforcement.
“They were drinking like they hadn’t had water in days,” she said.
The sheriff said that Dallas Singletary dragged the dogs through the parking lot and then kicked them as he threw them in the dumpster.
“He was high; he was all messed up on drugs,” the sheriff added.
Singletary was arrested on two counts of animal cruelty and animal abandonment, along with his girlfriend Kristen Willoughby, who had been charged with animal cruelty before.
Mirling expressed hope that they would never be allowed to own animals again.
“If someone is struggling so hard with keeping their animal, bring them to an animal shelter, bring them somewhere they can be safe,” she said.
The older dog was returned to its rightful owner, while the younger one was adopted.
Both suspects are in the Brevard County Jail and have their first court appearance scheduled for Wednesday. Mirling and other animal lovers hope that justice will be served.
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