A 24-year-old man was arrested on multiple counts of animal abuse after a rotting dog, whose corpse was filled with maggots, as well as two other emaciated dogs were found in an abandoned home filled with feces, urine, and rotting food.
Winter Springs Police Department officers arrested Quaid Michael Carpenter on Tuesday, August 1, while he was working at a local Chipotle.
According to an arrest affidavit filed in Seminole County, WSPD officers were called to 848 Benchwood Court on June 29, 2023 in reference to assisting Seminole County Animal Services with removing canines from a residence.
Upon arrival, police walked up to the residence and were “immediately overwhelmed by the smell of decomposition.” A neighbor let police in through the garage, where they encountered at least 10 empty bags of dog food and one bag that was about 1/8th full.
When police entered the residence, they were hit with a “very strong smell of decomposition,” according to the affidavit.
“The smell inside [the home] was extraordinarily strong and smelled of rotting flesh, feces, urine, and rotting food,” reads the affidavit.
Throughout the house, there were piles of dog feces all over the floors in every room, along with old, dried urine. The home was in disarray and there were flies, cockroaches, gnats, and beetles all over the “floors, walls, and actively flying and crawling about.”
The affidavit indicates that the presence of fleas was so strong, that officers inside the home became covered in fleas to the point where one of their “ankles appeared black.”
In one of the rooms in the household, two living and one deceased dog were found. The two living dogs were visibly emaciated and were removed from the residence to receive medical attention.
Authorities say the deceased dog, which was identified as a shih-tzu named “Fushi,” was “covered in maggots in all stages of development.” The dog’s abdomen was red, “suggesting that decomposition had been taking place for an extended period of time.”
During an interview with Carpenter, who was living at another residence on the same street, authorities learned that he, his mother, and his father had been evicted from the home housing the canines. Carpenter told police that he had called animal control and left a message, but could not provide details regarding when and what number he used.
Several weeks later during a second interview, Carpenter told police that he was unable to contact animal control because the facility was “closed” and he worked late.
A necropsy report for the 13-year-old Fushi showed that the dog had been starved to death. Inside Fushi’s stomach, a veterinarian found a chocolate wrapper, ketchup, mayonnaise, and two cigarette butts.
“This indicates that Fushi was trying to eat anything she could inside the residence. The lack of actual life sustaining contents inside Fushi’s stomach suggests she was starved to death,” reads the affidavit.
Carpenter faces multiple charges, including three counts of animal torture, three counts of animal abandonment, three counts of keeping animals in an enclosure without air or exercise, and three counts of confining animals. He is scheduled for arraignment on September 19.