Pit Bull Has Mouth Duct-Taped Shut, Owner Charged With Animal Cruelty

A pit bull has been rescued after police discovered the dog in a cage in its own filth. The animal, pictured above, had its mouth duct-taped shut by owner Andrea Curiel.

Curiel admitted that she’d done it because she was afraid the dog would bark while she was at work and get her in trouble with apartment management.

Authorities, who had received an animal cruelty tip on Curiel’s apartment, said that the dog had been sitting in its own urine and feces because the cage was much too small, resulting in “urine burns” on his paws and testicles. His eyes also appeared to be red, and he was “visibly in distress” with no food or water.

Curiel said she’d intended to clean the cage but was running late for work and had to drive her two children to school, so she put him in the cage as a cautionary measure.

Curiel was taken to Palm Beach County Jail, where according to WPTV, she remains. The pit bull was taken to Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control and is recovering.

When he’s fully healed up, YouSignAnimals notes, he will be available for adoption.

The pit bull is a breed that gets quite the reputation for attacking and killing humans. It does seem like there are more media reports on such cases anyway.

However, stories like the one above, as well as this one The Inquisitr reported earlier this month, have to make you wonder who the most dangerous creatures really are.

According to the report from September 24, a New York man was sent to prison for burning 13 pit bull dogs to death.

Anthony Reddick, 53, admitted that he illegally trained the pit bulls to fight, and when first responders found his garage on fire last February, they found dog fighting paraphernalia in addition to the 13 dead dogs. The dogs, according to a report in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, were aged two and a half months to five years old. Officials ruled that the pit bulls had been killed in the fire by burning to death.

New York fire officials did find three dogs still alive. Reddick was sentenced to three years in prison and he is not legally allowed to own any animal for 15 years. The maximum sentence for animal cruelty in Nassau County is four years, and prosecutors sought the max penalty.

What do you think, readers? Is the pit bull breed any more dangerous than other big dogs or is it the owner that makes it dangerous? Sound off in our comments section.