INDIANTOWN — A 14-year-old boy is accused of animal cruelty after his dog was dragged by a vehicle the boy had left him tied to, sheriff’s deputies say.

An officer with the Martin County Sheriff’s animal control unit spotted the injured dog Sunday morning by Mac’s Grocery in the Booker Park area.

A sheriff’s deputy recalled seeing the dog, uninjured, the day before, tied to a vehicle parked outside the teen’s home.

After interviewing the boy and his parents, the deputy learned the boy had left the dog tethered to the vehicle.

Later that day, the teen’s father gave a family member permission to borrow the vehicle and the relative drove away without realizing the dog had been tied to the vehicle. Several relatives use the same vehicle, the family said.

The dog was dragged nearly 530 yards before it was able to break free, deputies estimated.
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Danny Ford

The dog’s owner told Martin County Sheriff’s deputies that he saw Danny K. Ford in his yard in the 8400 block of Southeast Eucalyptus Way where he was stabbing the homeowner’s pit bull in the eyes.

The homeowner said Ford, 48, was known as a local in the Banner Lake area. When he saw Ford with the rebar shortly before 6:30 p.m. on Friday, he rushed into his yard.

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