A dog owner at a Downtown Miami high-rise was arrested after neighbors raised alarms about a thin dog left for days on a balcony littered with waste. Kevin Benjamin was charged with animal cruelty with intent to injure or kill, according to Miami-Dade jail records, after Miami-Dade County Animal Services responded to complaints at the ParkLine condominium and took custody of the dog.
The case broke into public view through a viral social media video showing the dog lying motionless on the balcony floor, according to NBC 6 South Florida. The woman who shot the footage said the balcony contained dog waste, and neighbors told the station they had seen the animal stuck out there for several days, appearing visibly thin. The conditions sparked suspicions of possible abandonment or abuse among residents of the building.
Catalina Balzano, a member of the community, said residents began to organize once they realized what was happening above them. Per the same account, community members worked together to try to get the dog out of the unit before animal services ultimately responded to the complaints and picked the dog up.
Where the Dog Was Found
ParkLine Miami sits at 100 NW 6th Street in Downtown Miami, a complex of twin towers rising 30 and 33 floors above the MiamiCentral transportation hub, with 816 residences total, according to Zillow. Under Miami-Dade County regulations, dogs four months or older must be vaccinated against rabies and registered with a county license, and leaving a pet without adequate shelter or in a hazardous space is considered actionable neglect, according to the Miami-Dade County Official Portal.
What Benjamin Could Face
Benjamin’s charge falls under Florida Statute § 828.12(2), which makes intentional acts or omissions causing excessive or repeated unnecessary pain or suffering to an animal a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, according to Online Sunshine, the Florida Legislature’s official statute site. Convictions involving intentional torture also carry a mandatory $2,500 fine along with required psychological counseling or anger management, the statute notes…