Kittens thrown from moving truck – animal cruelty

By NewsChief.com

LAKELAND – The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an animal cruelty case that reportedly involved kittens being thrown from a moving truck.

The Sheriff’s Office was notified about the incident in north Lakeland at approximately 9:44 a.m. today, sheriff’s spokeswoman Donna Wood said.

Witnesses reported that the driver of a white GMC pickup truck had run over a kitten while traveling toward U.S. Highway 98. The witnesses followed the truck and saw another kitten being thrown from the passenger-side window, Wood said.

The witnesses followed the truck to the Tractor Farm Supply store on U.S. 98 and confronted the driver about what they had witnessed.

When deputies arrived, they found one dead kitten alongside the road on Rockridge Road, Wood said. A second kitten was found alive and has been transported to the sheriff’s Animal Control Section for medical evaluation. A third kitten is missing.

Once medically cleared, the surviving kitten will be placed for adoption, Wood said.

The Sheriff’s Office has identified the driver of the truck as David Carl Arthur, 67, of 11221 Rockridge Road, Lakeland. Arthur was the only occupant of the truck, Wood said.

Inside the truck, she said, deputies found a sign that read, “Free Kittens – 1 Mile.”

Arthur complained of shortness of breath and chest pains, Wood said. Emergency medical personnel took him to Lakeland Regional Medical Center for treatment.

The investigation is ongoing, but Wood said Arthur faces three charges of animal cruelty.