Officials are calling it animal cruelty in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Dozens of dogs, and a few cats abandoned by their owners as Hurricane Irma approaches.
County animal control officers have been rushing to pick-up animals left behind over the last couple of days.
Diane Suave, Director, Palm Beach Co. Animal Care, said, “49 dogs and two cats, and that’s just the ones that we were able to locate.”
When asked what they were seeing, Suave said, “These are dogs that had literally… owners had gone, and they were left either in pens, or in yards that they would not be able to get out of, or tethered or chained.”
With storm winds picking-up early Saturday afternoon, animal control officers were pulled off the streets.
The county’s animal control director and state attorney say they’ll prosecute people who’ve left animals outside.
