BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A Brevard County woman was arrested on Monday after abandoning a dog and a pig at her dead boyfriend’s home, according to the sheriff’s office.
According to Sheriff Wayne Ivey, the sheriff’s office began investigating the alleged abuse on May 1, though the case started well before then.
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Ivey said 57-year-old Lita Rogers’ boyfriend died in August 2022.
However, the veterinary technician continued to live in his house until March 2023, which is when she got into a fight with the boyfriend’s children who wanted the house back, Ivey explained.
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As a result, Rogers decided to move out — abandoning a dog and a pig at the home in the process, Ivey announced.
“This lady left these animals, left them behind. Now, it’s not bad enough that she left them behind. She says that it wasn’t her responsibility,” Ivey said.
Ivey added that Rogers went back to the house four times since then to check on her car, even while she knew that the dog and pig were left starving to death.
“This lady had the opportunity to not only take care of these (animals), she had been taking care of the dog and the pig and then just packed up and moved and left them,” Ivey said.
By the time deputies responded to the home, the dog had already died, and the pig was near death, Ivey stated. Deputies said that veterinarians were ultimately able to rescue the pig, though.
“She took her anger out on this poor, helpless dog and this pig,” Ivey said. “As I’ve said, our team’s done a great job nursing this pig back to health, but the dog unfortunately has passed away.”
Rogers was arrested and faces two counts of animal abandonment, two counts of animal cruelty and two counts of confining animals without sufficient food or water. She was later released on Tuesday afternoon on a bond of $24,000.
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