MIDDLEBURG, Fla. — The Clay County Sheriff’s Office is looking for the children responsible for the death of a young chihuahua mix.
They say that on May 17, a group of five or six kids was seen throwing a dog back and forth, dunking it underwater, and physically abusing it on the Main Boat Ramp in Middleburg.
In a video put out by the CCSO, Detective Gary Winterstein says two or three kids were in the water, while the others cheered them on.
Witnesses told the sheriff’s office that the kids were between the ages of nine and 13 years old.
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“I want to find out who hurt these animals,” Winterstein said.
The CCSO says a family did step in and rescued the dog, but unfortunately, it died a few days later from the incident.
“It makes me want to cry, thinking of how that little dog was thrown around like, like nothing, and drowned, and the fear, and the horror, and the pain, and suffering it endured at the expense of a bunch of kids who should know better,” Debbie Darino, an animal rights advocate, said.
Darino is the advocate responsible for Florida’s animal abuse database and the newly introduced LEASH Act. She says behavior like this doesn’t spawn out of nowhere.
“Sometimes kids learn from what they see, whether there’s abuse in the house, and they carry it out in other ways, like injuring and hurting animals, or torturing them, or it could just be that the kids just have no concept of what they’re doing and how much pain and suffering they’re causing to an innocent, voiceless animal,” Darino said.
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She says she doesn’t believe it’s the children’s “first rodeo.”
“At some point, one of those four or five kids is going to say, ‘Hey, we’re the ones that did it’ to the wrong person,” Darino said. “They’re going to get reported, because most people who do these types of things can’t wait to brag about it.”
Darino says that animal abuse cases like this could be avoided if schools taught animal welfare. She says if children haven’t been around animals, they might not understand that doing this is wrong, and this behavior could lead to abusive behavior involving humans in the future.
We reached out to the CCSO to speak with Detective Winterstein or the family who rescued the dog, but both were unavailable to speak with us today.
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The CCSO is urging parents who believe their children may have been in the area that day, or anyone with information on this case, to please come forward.
In a Facebook post, the sheriff’s office wrote the following:
The case number is 2026-011933, you’re encouraged to call us at 904-264-6512 and ask for Detective Gary Winterstein – you can also send an email to GaryW@claysheriff.com. You can also submit an anonymous tip via the SaferWatch app or First Coast Crimestoppers at 888-845-TIPS (8477).
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