Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/247585
CRIME BLOTTER Shelley Bezanson is shown with her dog after she adopted it from the Humane Society of Sarasota County. Photo courtesy Sheriff's Office OSPREY WOMAN CHARGED WITH KILLING HER DOG The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office has arrested a 28-year-old woman "for killing her dog in a cruel and painful manner because she didn't want anyone else to have it," the Sheriff's Office has reported. "A necropsy confirmed Diamond was strangled and suffered a prolonged, painful and cruel death," the release adds. Bezanson was taken into custody Friday, Jan. 17, and charged with Cruelty to Animals: The Animal Services division was contacted Resulting in Cruel Death. She is being held on by the Venice Police Department in November a $25,000 bond. after receiving a report that Shelley Bezanson, 28, of 42 W. Oak Street, Unit F3, Osprey, had killed her seven-year-old dog, Diamond, and planned to bury it at a home on Base Avenue, a news release says. The investigation revealed that Bezanson had tried to convince her veterinarian to euthanize Diamond, but the request was refused "because the animal was not sick and there was no ethical or justifiable reason to do so," the release adds. "The vet's staff had encouraged Bezanson to return Diamond to the Sarasota Humane Society," it continues, "but she refused and chose to kill the dog herself." Shelley Bezanson/Contributed photo