MIDDLEBURG, Fla. — The story gripped much of Clay County a few weeks ago, only it wasn’t true. A couple told sheriff’s deputies they saw teens trying to drown a dog May 17 on the Main Boat Ramp in Middleburg.
During a Facebook Live briefing Monday morning, Sheriff Michelle Cook said the couple, Zachary and Amber Manning, lied about the incident because they were hoping to gain empathy from their landlord who has a no pets policy.
“For upwards of seven weeks, we believed that we were investigating a drowned puppy, which is a felony crime of abuse,” Cook said. During their investigation, Cook said the couple avoided being interviewed by detectives.
“When we confronted them ... they admitted that they concocted the story,” Cook said. “We put hundreds of hours of work into this that could have gone into a real crime.”
Cook said the story began when Zachary and Amber Manning saw a person with the dog, Ghost, at the boat ramp and Amber commented to the person that they were hoping to get a dog like that.
The person responded that they were hoping to find a new home for the dog and asked the Manning’s if they’d like to have it.
They said yes knowing that their landlord wouldn’t allow a dog in their house so the couple concocted a story that the dog was abused by juveniles in hopes that the landlord would be sympathetic and allow them to keep the dog, Cook said.
The dog died days after the incident of natural causes, Cook said adding that a GoFundMe that was set up for the dog was used for the vet bill.
As for Zachary and Amber Manning, Cook said she’s working with the State Attorneys Office “to hold them accountable for lying to law enforcement about a felony crime which is very serious,” she said.
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